KUALA LUMPUR: Cosmetic product founders and sellers are not allowed to use the professional title "doctor" to their names when advertising their brands and merchandise, health deputy minister Datuk Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali said.
Failure to do so, he said, would lead to severe consequences where the advertisements and product notifications would be cancelled out by the ministry.
Dr Noor Azmi explained that the regulation on preventing misleading advertisements is enshrined in the advertising guidelines for cosmetics issued by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Division (NPRA).
"Based on the advertising guidelines for cosmetics issued by NPRA, the use of professional titles like 'doctor' is not allowed.
"If the sale of cosmetics involves a professional person such as a doctor, the information will be channeled to the professional body that regulates the practice of doctors for further action.
"Regulatory actions such as advertising warnings and cancellation of product notifications will be taken if they are found to have made advertisements (by including) medical claims or (any) claims that go beyond the scope of the definition of cosmetics," he told the Dewan Rakyat today.
Dr Noor Azmi also said cosmetic sellers were not allowed to make excessive claims about their products without concrete proof.
"Founders of cosmetic products cannot make medical or excessive claims about their respective products to the extent that they go beyond the scope of the definition of cosmetics, such as on cleaning, scenting or beautifying."