KUALA LUMPUR, August 6 - The Malaysian Ministry of Health (KKM) through the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) advises the public to avoid buying and using cosmetic products that are found to contain scheduled poisons.

The Ministry of Health, in a statement, said that the notification of the products has been revoked by the Senior Director of Pharmacy Services, Ministry of Health and is no longer allowed to be sold in Malaysia because they contain dangerous ingredients such as hydroquinone, tretinoin, betamethasone 17-valerate and mercury.

"Sellers and distributors of these cosmetic products need to immediately stop selling and distributing these cosmetic products.

"The sale and distribution of these cosmetic products is in violation of the Control of Drugs and Cosmetics Regulations 1984.," it said.

At any rate, people who are currently using these products are advised to immediately stop using them and seek advice from a health professional if they experience any adverse effects.

Meanwhile, the public can look at the notification status of cosmetic products by visiting NPRA's official website at www.npra.gov.my or through the 'NPRA Product Status' application which can be downloaded from the Google Play Store.