Stop botox or face jail time, beauty salons warned

KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry has warned beauty salons to stop providing botox injection treatments to the public or risk facing stern action, which may include jail time.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said beauty salons are not equipped to carry out such procedures, which can only be conducted by experts or doctors recognised by his ministry, and this may cause harm.

“For instance, 10 uses of botox may not show any effect, but after the 11th injection, it will show some bad effects.

“We do not want to take such risks,” he told Dr Lee Boon Chye (PKR-Gopeng) during Question Time at Parliament on Wednesday.

Dr Lee had asked the Health Ministry what steps it had taken to monitor beauty clinics while making sure the growing local beauty sector is not hurt.

“Botox has been categorised as a medicine under the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA),” he said.

Dr Subramaniam explained that beauty salons may provide cosmetic and aesthetic procedures that are not intrusive.

However, intrusive procedures can only be conducted by professionals and doctors recognised by the Health Ministry.

To an initial question from Khoo Soo Seang (BN-Tebrau), Dr Subramaniam said beauty salons that provide botox injections can be charged for misusing business premises and obtaining banned substances.

“Among the actions that can be taken by the NPRA is through the Sale of Drugs Act 1952, which carries a fine of RM25,000 or a jail term of up to five years, or both.

“Under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998, those providing unregistered healthcare facilities can be fined up to RM300,000 or face a jail term not exceeding a period of six years, or both,” said Dr Subramaniam.