Laws afoot to regulate beauty and health care industries

Star: Some 10,000 beauty and health care centers in Malaysia will be come under new laws to weed out illegal practitioners and protect consumers, Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said.
The government is preparing two legislative bills, which are expected to get parliament's approval by 2007, Chua said.
Skin diseases are seldom life-threatening but can be stigmatizing, causing a growing number of patients to turn to centers offering aesthetic medical procedures such as dermatologic and laser surgery and drugs to treat their conditions, he said.
But there are concerns that unregulated use of such devices and treatments could threaten patients' health, he said.
"We are now doing a detailed study and are in the process of drafting two bills to address this issue," Chua said when opening a regional dermatology conference here.
"The Medical Devices Bill will regulate all aspects of medical devices in the country while the Cosmetic Bill will regulate the practitioners, facilities, services, equipment, products, advertisements and training in cosmetic practice."
Chua later told reporters that beauty and health care industries are booming with some 10,000 centers nationwide now offering services ranging from health spas to skin care and slimming salons to breast enhancement.
They are not governed by any laws.