Disallow Advertisements of Misleading Claims on General Health Products
Ministry of HealthSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the regulatory framework for products making health claims and measures to prevent misleading advertisements for general health products. Dr Chia Shi-Lu inquired about the conditions for product regulation under the Health Products Act (HPA) and actions taken against false claims. Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong clarified that the HPA regulates pharmaceutical drugs and medical devices, whereas general well-being products are excluded and forbidden from making medical claims. He stated that complementary medicines are governed by the Medicines Act, and advertisements targeting serious diseases are prohibited to protect consumers from inappropriate self-medication. The Health Sciences Authority conducts surveillance and is empowered to order the removal of non-compliant ads, mandate corrective clarifications, and seek penalties including fines and imprisonment.
Transcript
62 Dr Chia Shi-Lu asked the Minister for Health regarding products which make specific health claims, such as alleviating certain physical symptoms (a) under what conditions will they be included or excluded from regulations under the Health Products Act; and (b) what measures are there to prevent misleading claims and advertisements of general health products.
Mr Gan Kim Yong: Currently, western pharmaceutical drugs and medical devices are regulated under the Health Products Act (HPA). These products are used for the specific purpose of prevention, diagnosis, monitoring, treatment or alleviation of medical conditions and symptoms. Products meant to promote a person’s general well-being are not regarded as health products under HPA, and companies are not allowed to make any claims that these products can prevent, diagnose or treat any medical conditions. Examples include massage equipment and similar devices using electromagnetic waves and electrotherapy to relax muscles and improve blood circulation, as well as devices meant for fitness tracking.
Complementary health products, such as traditional medicines and health supplements, which claim to alleviate certain symptoms of disease conditions or enhancing a specific function of the body are regulated under the Medicines Act (MA). Examples include medicated oil and balms for pain relief and glucosamine supplements for joint health.
Under HPA and MA, false and misleading claims are prohibited. Additionally, there is a list of serious diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cancer for which advertisements are prohibited. This is to prevent consumers from being misled that a product can treat such diseases which may lead to inappropriate self-medication and delay in seeking necessary medical treatments. Direct advertising to the public of prescription only medicines or medical devices for professional use only is also prohibited.
The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) conducts surveillance on published advertisements. When non-compliant advertisements are detected, the advertisers will be ordered to stop and remove the publication of these advertisements. HSA will also provide them with advice on the regulatory requirements and work with them to rectify non-compliant advertisements. HPA also empowers HSA to direct the offending party to take such corrective measures as issuing a clarification advertisement to clear up any misleading or false claims in the earlier contravening advertisement. Under HPA, the maximum penalty for advertising a non-health product as a health product or advertising a health product in a false or misleading way, is a fine of $20,000, or imprisonment up to 12 months, or both.