Thailand Cabinet agrees in principle to new cosmetics bill

The Thailand Cabinet has agreed in principle to new cosmetics bill to boost consumer protection and restrict misleading advertising, reports The Nation.

Besides, the bill gives the watchdog the authority to rectify any ambiguous messages in misleading ads.

This bill is a revised version of a similar law that came into effect for two decades.

The revised bill has modernized legal and technical definitions in order to safeguard cosmetics users, Public Health Ministry spokesman Dr Surachet Sathitniramai was quoted as saying by The Nation.

If bill gets passed by the National Legislative Assembly, the Cosmetic Act will come into effect by 2015.

By the end of this year, the ministry intends to enact another 27 bills in order to protect and promote public health.

The cosmetics bill is designed to be in line with Asean Cosmetic Directive and lays heavier penalties on violators.

The bill would help the Thailand’s cosmetics industry, which exported products worth THB150m ($4.5m) to Asean countries while the domestic revenues touched THB150bn ($4.5bn).

The bill includes clearer definitions and ingredients of cosmetics on par with international standards; a greater range of prohibited hazardous ingredients; and a stringent requirement that importers or manufacturers recall products that are banned or proven hazardous at their own cost.