The Drug Administration of Vietnam (Ministry of Health) has just launched a peak period of reviewing, inspecting and handling smuggling and trade fraud against drugs and cosmetics nationwide. The inspection period lasts from mid-December 2025 to March 31, 2026, to ensure the safety of consumers during the end of the year and the Lunar New Year.
According to the document directing the Department of Health of provinces and cities, the Drug Administration of the State requires functional units to "standing firm" in the situation of smuggling, production and trading of counterfeit and poor quality drugs and cosmetics - which tend to increase sharply during peak shopping demand.
A representative of the Department of Drug Administration said that local management agencies need to urgently assess the compliance with the law of pharmaceutical and cosmetic registration, production and trading establishments in the area. The focus of the inspection is the legality of the enterprise as well as the legality of each product circulating on the market.
For drug products, the authorities will focus on checking the business eligibility certificate, circulation registration number, invoice and certificate, expiration date and compliance with prescription drug sales regulations. For the cosmetic group, the review content includes a production license, product information records (PIF), the suitability between the published content and the actual production, as well as labeling of ingredients, uses, and features to promptly detect violations.
Not only stopping at traditional distribution channels, the Drug Administration of Vietnam requires expanding supervision to e-commerce platforms such as Shopee, Lazada, TikTok Shop and social networking platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube. Products that have not been licensed for circulation, have been decided to be revoked or destroyed but are still publicly advertised, as well as cases of false advertising will be key subjects to be handled.
The management agency emphasized the viewpoint of handling violations according to the principle of "no forbidden areas, no exceptions". Cases with signs of crime, such as trading in counterfeit goods with high value, causing serious consequences, organized violations or repeated violations, will be transferred to the investigation agency for criminal prosecution.
The move to tighten management takes place in the context of a rapid growth of the Vietnamese cosmetic market but with many potential risks in quality.
According to Statista statistics, the scale of the Vietnamese cosmetics market in 2024 is estimated to reach more than 2.4 billion USD, an increase of 3.4% over the previous year and is forecast to reach about 2.7 billion USD in 2027. Currently, about 90% of the cosmetic supply in the market is imported goods. Although traditional retail channels still dominate, the increasingly popular trend of online shopping is making the situation of business of goods of unknown origin and poor quality more complicated.
Strengthening inspection and control during the Lunar New Year is expected to contribute to restoring order in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic markets, protecting the rights and health of consumers.
