Two cosmetic products, Airee Beautycare Night Cream and BL Ledehh Day Cream were found to contain poisons that could harm the health of users.
Director General of Health, Datuk Dr. Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan said, the notification of the cosmetic products involved has been canceled by the Senior Director of Pharmacy Services, Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH) and is no longer allowed to be sold in the country.
He said Airee Beautycare Night Cream products contain mercury poison that can be absorbed into the body and cause damage to the kidneys and nervous system.
“It can also interfere with the brain development of young or unborn children in addition to experiencing rashes, irritation and other changes on the skin,” he said in a statement today.
According to him, BL Ledehh Day Cream was found to contain hydroquinone and tretinoin poisons which are drugs that need to be registered with the Drug Control Authority and can only be used with the advice of health professionals.
He said, the use of products containing hydroquinone ingredients without the supervision of health professionals can cause side effects such as causing redness on the applied skin, discomfort and unwanted skin color changes.
In addition, the skin can become hypersensitive, inhibiting the pigmentation process (depigmentation) which reduces the skin’s protection from harmful UV rays and can increase the risk of skin cancer.
“Tretinoin can cause the area of skin to be applied to be red, uncomfortable, sore, flaky and hypersensitive to sunlight.
“Sellers and distributors of these cosmetic products need to stop the sale and distribution of these cosmetic products immediately because they are in violation of the Drug and Cosmetics Control Regulations 1984,” he said.
At the same time, Muhammad Radzi informed that individuals who commit offenses under these Regulations may be fined not more than RM25,000 or imprisoned not more than three years or both for the first offence.
For subsequent offences, a fine not exceeding RM50,000 or imprisonment not exceeding 5 years or both for subsequent offences.
He said, companies that commit offenses can be fined up to RM50,000 for the first offense and fined up to RM100,000 for subsequent offences.
“The general public who are currently using these cosmetic products are advised to immediately stop using them and seek advice from a health professional if they experience any discomfort or adverse effects.
“The public is encouraged to check the notification status of a cosmetic product by visiting NPRA’s official website www.npra.gov.my or through the ‘NPRA Product Status’ application which can be downloaded from the Google Play Store,” he said.
