Singapore: Health Sciences Authority cracks down on 3,300

in short

The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has removed more than 3,300 listings of illegal health products in a massive operation in partnership with major e-commerce and social media platforms. This action highlights HSA’s commitment to consumer safety and targets substandard or counterfeit products that may be unsafe and pose a health risk.

From September 23 to October 23, 2024, HSA worked with eight online platforms to remove 3,336 illegal health product listings and issued 1,471 warnings to sellers. This marks HSA’s first large-scale collaboration with these online platforms. The removed products span a variety of product categories. For example, 48% are beauty enhancement products such as DIY beauty injectables, dermal fillers, Botox, etc. Others include contraceptives (11%), antibiotics (10%), contact lenses (7%) and sexual enhancement products (5%). About 40% of the items sold are prescription or pharmacy drugs.

The HSA warns consumers that products sold online are often not evaluated for safety or effectiveness and may cause serious adverse reactions. For example, DIY injection kits and prescription medications that require medical supervision. HSA also emphasized its close collaboration with platform administrators to proactively monitor and remove illegal listings.

In a press release, the HSA reiterated the harsh penalties for those caught selling illegal supplements. If convicted of supplying such illegal health products, sellers face a jail term of up to three years and/or a fine of up to S$100,000.

The HSA specifically gives some examples of penalties, namely:

• Fined S$266,500 for selling 126 counterfeit cosmetics, largest ever fine for selling counterfeit cosmetics
• Fined S$19,000 and two weeks in jail for supplying unregistered health products for home beauty services and promoting such services on social media
• Investigation into serious adverse event reported by a four-month-old baby resulted in fine of S$18,000 for selling unregistered skin cream

This action highlights the Health and Safety Authority’s proactive stance in protecting public health, working with major e-commerce platforms to combat illegal online sales of health products. Suppliers and sellers of supplements are advised to comply with the requirements of the HSA.

Illegal health products may cover a wide range of products, from genuine products sold through illegal means (such as without a prescription) to counterfeit products and gray goods/parallel imports. Depending on the specific facts, regulatory and intellectual property laws may be involved. Various regulatory agencies can take ex officio action against genuine products sold through illegal means or in cases involving counterfeit products, and brand owners can initiate private intellectual property proceedings against sellers of counterfeit products. These include criminal searches, demand letters, takedown notices, private prosecutions and civil lawsuits.

The appropriate strategy depends on what the illegal health product is and your overall goals. We have extensive expertise in the areas of healthcare regulation and intellectual property and are well versed in handling interactions and advising you on appropriate strategies.

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