Advertising of dietary supplements and medications: what is prohibited and what are the consequences of violations. Clarifications from the Department of Complex Medical and Pharmaceutical Products of
The Department of the Committee for Medical and Pharmaceutical Control of the City of Almaty (hereinafter referred to as the Department), in the context of strengthening state control over the circulation and advertising of dietary supplements, medicines and medical services and in order to implement the Roadmap for the identification and suppression of illegal advertising of dietary supplements, medical services and medicines in the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 734 dated September 10, 2025, reports the following.
In accordance with subparagraphs 1), 2), 11-15) of paragraph 3 of Article 56 of the Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Public Health and the Healthcare System”, it is prohibited:
advertising of medicines and medical devices not registered in the Republic of Kazakhstan; advertising of prescription drugs in the media; indication in advertising to the population of methods of treatment of the following diseases: sexually transmitted diseases, oncological, mental, behavioral disorders (diseases), dangerous infectious diseases, HIV infection, tuberculosis, diabetes mellitus; refer in advertising to recommendations of scientists, healthcare specialists, and government officials who may encourage the use and/or prescription of medicines and medical devices, and present services, medicines, and medical devices in advertising as unique, the safest, and the most effective; to claim that the safety and effectiveness of a drug are due to its natural origin; give rise to the assumption that the effectiveness of the service provided, treatment with the advertised drug is guaranteed, and that the use of the drug is not accompanied by the development of side effects. In addition to the specified provisions of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the sale of medicines and medical devices via the Internet, including marketplaces, is regulated by the Rules for the Advertising of Medicines and Medical Devices, approved by Order of the Minister of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated December 20, 2020 No. ҚР ДСМ-288/2020 (hereinafter referred to as Rules No. ҚР ДСМ-288/2020). In accordance with subparagraph 1 of paragraph 2 of Rule No. ҚР ДСМ-288/2020, the concept of advertising of medicines and medical devices (hereinafter referred to as advertising) is defined as information distributed and (or) posted in any form, by any means, intended for an indefinite number of persons, containing individual information or a set of information about medicines and medical devices, facilitating their promotion and sale.
To advertise medicines and medical devices, one of the mandatory requirements is the availability of permits: a state license with appendices for pharmaceutical activity, as well as a state certificate of registration in the Republic of Kazakhstan, in accordance with Regulation No. KR DSM-288/2020. Moreover, according to paragraph 11 of Regulation No. KR DSM-288/2020, the advertiser places the advertisement upon the applicant's submission of a conclusion from a subordinate organization of the authorized body whose competence includes matters of healthcare technology assessment (National Scientific Center for Healthcare Development) on the compliance of the advertisement with the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the field of healthcare (conclusions on the compliance of advertising materials for medicines and medical devices with the requirements of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan are attached). Based on the above, the Department reminds everyone to strictly adhere to regulatory legal acts when selling medicines and medical devices. In the event of detection of violations of legal requirements in the field of circulation of medicines and medical devices, these violations may fall under Article 426 of the Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Administrative Offenses”.