Health Ministry lists 8 cosmetic products containing poisons

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the products involved were Moleek Day Cream; Adel Miracle Flawless Serum; Ah Beauty Night Cream (containing mercury); Ndz UV Whitening (hydroquinone); Snow Cream Normal; Snow Cream Sensitive; Dnars Nar Cream - Sensitive; and Ellfie Night Cream (hydroquinone and tretinoin).

"Notification of the products involved had been revoked by the Health Ministry's pharmaceutical services senior director, following the detection of scheduled poisons in them," he said.

Dr Noor Hisham said products containing hydroquinone and tretinoin had to be registered with the Drug Control Authority and could only be used with advice from health professionals as unsupervised use could cause redness to the skin, discomfort, discolouration of skin, and hypersensitivity.

For cosmetic products that were adulterated with mercury, it could be harmful to health because the mercury could be absorbed into the body and cause damage to the kidneys and nervous system.

He said the sale and distribution of the said products were in violation of the Control of Drugs and Cosmetics Regulations 1984.

Individuals who committed an offence under the Regulations could be fined not exceeding RM25,000 or jailed for up to three years, or both, for the first offence and fined up to RM50,000 or jailed up to five years, or both, for the subsequent offences, he said.

"A company found guilty can be fined up to RM50,000 for the first offence and up to RM100,000 for the subsequent offences," he said.

Dr Noor Hisham also advised those using the products to discontinue immediately and to seek help from health professionals if they experienced any adverse effects.