Untested shampoos, creams and make-up kits flooding Lanka; NMRA regulates cosmetics
The National Medicinal Regulatory Authority (NMRA) is to be empowered to regulate local and imported cosmetics also.
Health Ministry Secretary Janaka Sugathadasa said regulations had been drafted to make the NMRA the sole regulatory body for cosmetics.
At present, the Ministry of Health appointed the NMRA as a de facto body to regulate the local and imported cosmetics flooding the market.
This move follows widespread concerns expressed over the quality, efficacy and safety of the hundreds of cosmetic products being marketed and actively promoted.
Among the untested and sub-standard products being actively promoted and bought by thousands of people are whitening creams, lipsticks and shampoos. It is alleged that unscrupulous traders are bringing in huge amounts of substandard or fake cosmetics from neighbouring countries including India, China and Pakistan and selling them at low prices in Sri Lanka. Ministry Secretary Sugathadasa said that the NMRA would begin its monitoring of cosmetics after consultation with stakeholders includeing the Export Development Board, the local cosmetic industries and the Ministry of Commerce.
He said the regulations would be strictly implemented within a few months. The Cosmetics, Drugs and Devices Authority, the body regulating the mar- keting of cosmetics in Sri Lanka, was repealed in 2015 and replaced with the NMRA which at present regulate mainly the import and sale of medicinal drugs.
As the NMRA had a heavy workload, a separate body was to be appointed to monitor the import and sale of cosmetics, but bureaucratic delays hampered the move.
Cosmetics include creams, shampoos and make-up kits used by women and men who unsuspectingly buy substandard product, not aware there is no regulatory body.