Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) published a resolution this Tuesday (25) that prohibits the importation, manufacture, manipulation, commercialization, advertisement, and use of products based on phenol (carbolic acid) in general health or aesthetic procedures. According to the entity, no studies have been presented to the agency proving the efficacy and safety of the product for use in these procedures. The determination is temporary and remains in effect while investigations into the potential damages associated with the use of this chemical substance, which has been used in various invasive procedures, are conducted.
In a statement, Anvisa said that "the precautionary measure was motivated by concerns about the negative impacts on people's health." The resolution was published after Cremesp (Regional Medical Council of the State of São Paulo) went to Federal Court to request the suspension of the sale of phenol (carbolic acid) substances to professionals who are not doctors. The focus of the action was to prevent invasive procedures, including the so-called phenol peeling, in which the acid is used in a diluted form to reach the deeper layers of the skin.
The procedure with the acid gained attention when businessman Henrique da Silva Chagas, 27, died in an aesthetic clinic on Doutor Jesuíno Maciel street, in Campo Belo, in the southern zone of São Paulo due to cardiorespiratory arrest caused by the phenol peeling. The procedure was performed by influencer Natalia Fabiana Freitas Antônio, who took online courses to offer the technique and identifies herself as Natalia Becker. She was charged with intentional homicide for having assumed the risk of killing.