Legislation

The Medicines Act and its Regulations

The Medicines Act was gazetted in 1977 to provide a comprehensive control of all aspects of dealings in medicinal and its related products (Western medicines, Chinese proprietary medicines, cosmetic products, contact lens substances, etc)

The Poisons Act and its Rules

The Poisons Act which was first gazetted in 1939, regulates the importation, possession and sales of potent medicinal substances (poisons) so as to prevent misuse or illicit diversion of poisons. Poisons are listed under the Poisons Act and are identified by their chemical or generic names. The Poison Rules which are made under the Poisons Act serves to ensure the general safe handling of poisons.

 The Misuse of Drugs Regulations

The objective of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations is to provide for the possession, supply, import, manufacture and record keeping of controlled drugs as they tend to be misused or abused. Therefore, it serves to regulate the legitimate use of controlled drugs by professionals without unduly restricting them.

The Medicines (Advertisement and Sale) Act

The Act was introduced in 1956 for two purposes:

  • To curb the proliferation of spurious and misleading advertisements for medicines and medical services, and
  • To regulate the sale of substances recommended as a medicine.

Sales of Drugs Act

The Sale of Drugs Act was first introduced in 1919 as the Sale of Food and Drugs Ordinance which was operated by the Municipality of Singapore. In 1973, the law was vertically split into the Sale of Food Act and the Sale of Drugs Act. The Sale of Food Act was then delegated to the Ministry of the Environment while the Sale of Drugs Act was delegated to the Ministry of Health.

The purpose of the Sale of Drugs Act is to ensure that consumers are supplied with the quantity and quality of drugs demanded by them, explicitly or implicitly.

Thus the sale of adulterated drugs is an offence only when the purchaser is not fully informed of the nature of the adulteration at the time of purchase; and that only under certain circumstances may a drug be presumed to be adulterated or that it be deemed to be sold for human consumption.

Smoking (Control of Advertisements and Sale of Tobacco) Act (Chapter 309)

This Act was enacted with the objective to bring down the prevalence of smoking among the public, in particular, the youths.

This Act, amongst other things, restrict accessibility of tobacco products to youths, inform public of the health hazards of smoking via health warning labels on tobacco packs, prohibit advertisements and sales promotion of tobacco products and limit tar and nicotine contents in cigarettes for sale locally.

Availability of Legislation

Copies of legislation administered by the Centre for Drug Administration are available for purchase from : 

SNP Corporation Ltd (Legal Publishing)
1 Kim Seng Promenade #18-01/06 Great World City East Tower
Singapore 237994
Tel : 6826 9691
E-mail : lpcrsq@snpcorp.com 
Website : http://www.snpcorp.com/webshop


Last updated on 04 Feb 2008 19:47:58