'Anti-wrinkle' pill announced in Britain

LONDON, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- An anti-wrinkle pill reduces facial crows' feet and could be available for purchase beginning in November, a European consumer conglomerate said Thursday.

Unilever said the pills, which boost the body's production of collagen and are said to reduce crows' feet by as much as 30 percent, are to be sold at spas in Britain, Spain and Canada, The Daily Telegraph reported Thursday. Collagen gives skin its tone.

The pills don't require approval from drug regulatory agencies because no health claims are being made and are composed of already approved ingredients, the company said.

British researchers tested the pills on four groups of post-menopausal women in Britain, France and Germany.

In one study, a fifth of women who took the pills had significantly more fresh collagen in the dermis, the bottom layer of skin, than those who took a placebo.

The pills, containing vitamins C and E along with compounds from soya and tomatoes and omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oils, are said to activate "master" genes that boost collagen levels.

Not everyone thinks the pills are a good idea.

"We should be accepting wrinkles gracefully," Nichola Rumsay of the University of the West of England's appearance research center said. "Someone should develop a pill to stop people worrying about their appearance.

"That would make people a lot happier."