Almost every supplement or skincare campaign today involves influencers, live selling and review clips. The messages that sell best are often the riskiest, such as “lose 5 kilos in 2 weeks”, “clear skin in 7 days” or “doctor recommended”.
This article summarises the rules for brand owners. For registration and labelling, see FDA registration for food, supplements and medical devices and Cosmetic notification: who should be the holder.
Food and supplements: two layers of rules
Layer one: the content must not be false or deceptive. Section 40 of the Food Act B.E. 2522 prohibits any person from advertising the benefits, quality or properties of a food in a way that is false or that deceives people into unjustified belief. The penalty under Section 70 is imprisonment of up to three years, or a fine of up to thirty thousand baht, or both.
Layer two: approval is required before advertising. Section 41 requires anyone who wants to advertise the benefits, quality or properties of a food, through any medium and for commercial purposes, to submit the text, images or sound to the licensing authority for review first. An approved advertisement carries an advertising licence number, commonly called the ฆอ. number. Advertising without approval carries a fine of up to five thousand baht under Section 71.
A fine of five thousand baht looks light, but an advertisement made without approval often contains statements that also breach Section 40, which carries imprisonment.
The food advertising criteria notice B.E. 2564 divides advertising as follows:
- No approval needed: non-commercial academic information, corporate image advertising, and factual notices in the prescribed format. If benefit claims are added, approval is required immediately.
- Approval needed: claims approved for use on the label, nutrition claims, health claims, and all other advertising that does not fall within the categories above.
In practice, a supplement review clip that says how the product benefits you needs an advertising licence.
Statements treated as exaggerated
The B.E. 2564 notice gives examples of statements that may breach Section 40:
- False or exaggerated statements
- Treating, relieving, curing or preventing disease, illness or symptoms
- Changing the structure of the body or the function of an organ
- Enhancing sexual performance
- Nourishing the skin or enhancing beauty
- Weight loss or fat reduction, except for weight-control foods permitted under a specific Ministry of Public Health notice
- Body shaping, fat blocking
- Citing research or statistics that the Food and Drug Administration has not evaluated
The notice also treats the following as unfair to consumers:
- Endorsement or praise by medical or public health personnel of a food’s benefits, including by anyone who claims or presents themselves as such
- Comparing with or attacking other people’s products
The Food and Drug Administration’s B.E. 2568 warning gave examples of commonly seen statements, such as “lose weight in 3 days”, “slim instantly without exercise”, “cures diabetes”, “100% safe”, “FDA approved”, “doctor recommended”, and before-and-after comparison images.
Cosmetics: no prior approval, but similar red lines
The Cosmetics Act B.E. 2558 does not require approval before advertising, but it prohibits statements that are unfair to consumers, such as false, exaggerated or misleading statements, and the authority can order an advertisement to be corrected or suspended. Violations carry criminal penalties.
The dividing line is whether a statement claims the ordinary beauty and cleansing effects of a cosmetic, or goes further and claims medical effects such as treating acne, treating melasma, curing hair loss or changing the structure of the skin.
Claiming to cure disease: the risk of being treated as a drug
Whether the product is a supplement or a cosmetic, if it is claimed to diagnose, treat, relieve, cure or prevent disease, it may be considered a drug according to its claimed purpose. A drug must have a registered formula, and its advertising falls under the Drug Act B.E. 2510, which prohibits claiming that a drug cures disease in a miraculous way or completely. The risk therefore is not limited to the advertisement; it can extend to the product itself.
Consumer protection law
The Consumer Protection Act B.E. 2522 applies in parallel to advertising of all kinds of goods. Section 47 penalises anyone who intends to make others misunderstand, by advertising or using a label containing false statements, or statements they know or should know may mislead, whether the goods are their own or someone else’s. The penalty is imprisonment of up to six months, or a fine of up to one hundred thousand baht, or both, and for a repeat offence imprisonment of up to one year, or a fine of up to two hundred thousand baht, or both.
Influencers and reviewers
Influencers can be held liable. Section 40 of the Food Act uses the words “any person”, and Section 47 of the Consumer Protection Act covers advertising other people’s goods. In B.E. 2567 the Food and Drug Administration announced that it would prosecute celebrities, presenters, influencers, doctors and pharmacists who review supplements while claiming to cure disease or reduce weight, and reported that a number of doctors had been disciplined on ethical grounds by the Medical Council. Online platforms have also closed the accounts of advertisers who repeatedly violated the rules.
Brands are not exempt, because they hire the influencer and benefit from the advertisement. An influencer speaking off script does not automatically protect the brand.
New legislation is coming. The Office of the Consumer Protection Board is drafting amendments to cover influencers, creators, live sellers and affiliate marketers explicitly, including a duty to disclose paid arrangements. As of writing, the draft has not become law, but telling viewers that content is sponsored is a practice worth adopting now.
A review contract should include:
- The statements the reviewer may make, based on the advertising licence or approved information
- A list of words the reviewer must not say
- A duty to send the clip or script to the brand for review before publication
- A right to order removal or editing within a set time
- Disclosure that the content is sponsored
- Liability if the reviewer speaks outside the agreed scope
What to check before starting a campaign
- Product type. Food, cosmetic, drug or medical device, because the advertising rules differ.
- Compare every statement with what was approved on the label, the certificate or the notification.
- Supplements: obtain an advertising licence for benefit claims, and use the wording as approved without alteration.
- Cut risky words such as cure, completely cured, lose weight in a number of days, before-and-after images, 100% safe, FDA approved.
- Do not use medical personnel, or people dressed as doctors, to endorse supplements.
- Sign a contract with influencers covering the items listed above.
- Monitor lives and comments. Live remarks by admins or the host are advertising too.
- Have a plan to remove content if an order or warning comes from the authority.
- Keep records: the advertising licence, approved scripts and the files actually published.
Further reading
- FDA registration for food, supplements and medical devices: who must apply and what to do first
- Cosmetic notification: who should be the holder, the brand owner, the importer or the OEM factory
- Product labelling under consumer protection law
📌 See more: FDA registration service · Business law
If you are preparing a campaign or have received a warning letter about advertising, consult our legal team. We can review the wording, influencer contracts and responses to the authority.
This article is general information and is not legal advice for any specific case.
