In brief
On 20 February 2023, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) announced that it had seized over 737,000 units of illegal health products worth SGD 640,000 in 2022 through enforcement raids and covert purchases. Illegal health products include unregistered or counterfeit health products, as well as products with potent medicinal ingredients and/or banned substances illegally added to them.
Key takeaways
- To better protect local consumers from illegal health products, the HSA not only conducts surveillance at targeted physical locations but also on local e-commerce and social media platforms. The HSA not only conducts surveillance but also conducts active enforcement operations against sellers of illegal health products.
- Sellers and suppliers should note that the HSA will take stern enforcement actions against anyone who sells and/or supplies illegal health products. Anyone who supplies illegal health products may be imprisoned for up to three years and/or fined up to SGD 100,000.
In depth
On 20 February 2023, the HSA announced that it had seized over 737,000 units of illegal health products worth SGD 640,000 in 2022 through enforcement raids and covert purchases. Codeine cough syrups, sexual enhancement or male vitality products and sedatives accounted for 91% of the products seized during the enforcement operations.
In its enforcement operations, the HSA has also worked closely with local platform administrators to promptly remove product listings of illegal health products and to educate sellers on the regulations for sale. On local e-commerce and social media platforms, sexual enhancement or male vitality products and topical products marketed for allergies or eczema accounted for 98% of the product listings that were detected and removed.
The HSA highlighted the dangers of consumers purchasing illegal health products and recommended consumers to purchase such products from businesses with an established retail presence. The HSA also recommended that consumers refer to the HSA database of notified health supplements and traditional medicines when in doubt.
The full HSA announcement may be found here.
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