The Medicines Agency has just banned six advertisements touting the virtues of small fish used for fish pedicures.
Bad times for the fish used for the fish pedicure. Garra rufa, these small fish that detach the scales from your skin when you soak your feet in a basin, have already been pinned by the National Agency for Food Safety, Environment (ANSES) and Labor .
A few days ago, the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) banned an advertisement touting the health benefits of “fish pedicures”. Last Saturday, notes the Medical News Agency, the official journal published six new advertising bans for fish pedicures. As during the previous time, the ANSM re-renews its opposition to false allegations. One of the commercials claimed that Garra rufa “stimulate nerve endings and boost blood circulation. Others claim to work on skin conditions, such as psoriasis.”
In an opinion of April 25, ANSES had recommended a strict supervision of the practice in order to prevent “a potential infectious risk”. The Agency warned in particular certain users (diabetics, immunocompromised, users with skin lesions on their feet) who constituted “a sensitive population at greater risk of infection”.
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