In mainland China, counterfeit botulinum toxin used in cosmetic procedures is rampant. According to reports, there has been a surge in botulinum toxin poisoning cases in the mainland, with some patients being in critical condition upon arrival at hospitals.
As reported by China’s state media CCTV, the number of botulinum toxin poisoning cases received by the Fifth Medical Center of the Beijing General Hospital of the PLA has significantly increased recently, with some severe cases arriving at the hospital in life-threatening conditions.
Dr. Wang Chunyan, an attending physician in the department of chemical injury and poisoning treatment at the hospital, said that almost every day there are patients with botulinum toxin poisoning coming to the outpatient clinic, and currently, there are 8 to 9 patients receiving inpatient treatment. These patients come from various regions such as Beijing, Jiangsu, Liaoning, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, with ages ranging from their twenties to sixties, and all of them are women.
Dr. Wang Chunyan mentioned that in the past, there were only a few dozen cases of botulinum toxin poisoning each year, but last year alone, there were over 200 cases in the first half of the year, and it is expected to exceed 300 cases by now. Some patients arrive at the hospital already in life-threatening conditions. “For severely poisoned patients, the toxin can accumulate in the respiratory muscles, leading to respiratory muscle paralysis and difficulty breathing, necessitating emergency intubation and ventilation,” she explained.
Apart from the Beijing hospital, hospitals such as the Ninth People’s Hospital of Shanghai, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital in Jiangsu, and Suzhou University Affiliated Second Hospital have also seen an influx of botulinum toxin poisoning cases in their emergency rooms, indicating that the issue is widespread.
Some patients have reported that beauty salons often promote products using names like “peptides” and “collagen peptides,” without disclosing that they are actually injecting botulinum toxin.
For example, a woman named Wang from Nanjing spent 8,000 yuan to purchase 10 bottles of botulinum toxin from a WeChat seller, followed the seller’s instructions to dilute it with saline solution, and self-administered injections on her face. She later experienced symptoms of nausea and dizziness. When Wang tried to return the product to the seller, she was blocked, prompting her to report the incident to the police.
Investigations revealed that the products sold by the seller originated from a biological products company in Zibo, Shandong. The company procures botulinum toxin-containing liquid, mixes it with gel, sorbitol, water, and other substances, then fills them into 7-milliliter glass vials, freeze-dries them, turning them into botulinum toxin freeze-dried powder injections. These botulinum toxin products are sold without labels in plain bottles.
Reports indicate that the production cost of a legitimate botulinum toxin injection is around 800 to 1000 yuan, with a market retail price close to 2000 yuan. In contrast, the cost of each of these plain-bottled botulinum toxin injections is only 1.5 yuan, sold at 20 yuan, and after multiple layers of markup by intermediaries, they reach consumers at around a thousand yuan.
To evade scrutiny, the sales network of this company is highly covert, mainly conducted through online platforms and logistics channels. The company’s owner instructs all distributors to delete all chat records and shipping logs after receiving the products.
One of the company’s distributors named Cai disclosed that just for his business alone, the counterfeit botulinum toxin he acquired has been sold to over 20 provinces, involving a sum of approximately 3.8 million yuan.
The proliferation of counterfeit botulinum toxin in the market has raised serious concerns about the safety and regulation of cosmetic products and procedures in mainland China. The surge in poisoning cases and the deceptive practices of suppliers underscore the urgent need for stricter oversight and consumer awareness in the beauty industry.