Circumcision devices, intense pulsed light hair removal devices, pince-nosed snoring devices... At present, many medical devices can be purchased through e-commerce platforms. However, not all medical devices can be used for personal use.
For self-use, the product instructions shall comply with the relevant regulations on medical device instructions and label management, and special instructions for safe use shall be marked.
However, many e-commerce companies have problems such as not indicating that the products they sell are medical devices, without relevant business qualifications, and without risk warnings.
(See the "Rule of Law Daily" on April 20)
In the context of the rapid development of e-commerce, it is not surprising that medical device sales have also shifted online.
According to data, the scale of my country's medical device market has continued to expand in recent years. It is expected to reach 1,252.9 billion yuan in 2022 and 1,841.4 billion yuan in 2025.
The online sales of many medical device merchants account for more than 70%, and the Internet has become the main sales channel for medical devices.
However, some merchants selling medical devices online are not standardized. In terms of publicity, they only talk about the convenience of operation, but do not inform consumers that related products are medical devices, and there is no risk warning.
As a result, consumers who lack medical knowledge often fall into danger after purchasing medical devices.
According to the reporter's investigation, many medical device sales not only disguise the nature of medical devices, but also do not publish the number of medical device registration certificates, and do not show business license certificates.
These behaviors are all in violation of relevant regulations - some do not comply with the system regulations in advertising and publicity, and some violate the regulations in the supervision and management of medical devices and online sales.
According to the "Interim Measures for the Examination and Administration of Advertisements for Drugs, Medical Devices, Health Foods, and Formulas for Special Medical Purposes", medical device advertisements should be authentic and legal, and must not contain false or misleading content.
In reality, some businesses' advertisements refer to medical devices as "beauty devices", which is misleading to consumers.
According to the "Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Online Sales of Medical Devices", enterprises engaged in online sales of medical devices should display their medical device production and operation license or filing certificate in a prominent position on their home page, and the product page should display the product's medical device registration certificate or record certificate.
However, some businesses have not followed these regulations, which makes people wonder whether they really have the corresponding business qualifications.
Although my country's laws allow the recommendation of some medical devices for personal use, merchants must strictly follow relevant legal requirements to promote and sell, and consumers must purchase rationally - choose legal and regulated merchants and products, and do not blindly buy and operate after being misled by merchants .
From a certain point of view, the irregular behavior of online sales of medical devices is actually "selling risks". Merchants just count the money, while consumers face the hidden dangers that may be caused by improper operation.
Medical devices have professional thresholds, which are more related to the life and health of consumers.
Illegal sales of medical devices is not only a threat to unspecified groups, but also may affect and disrupt the relevant market order and the reputation of e-commerce platforms.
It is unrealistic to expect consumers to rely on their own abilities to judge and avoid these chaos.
First, merchants must weigh the consequences themselves, and cannot put consumers’ health and lives at risk in order to make quick money. If something goes wrong, they will face corresponding claims and administrative penalties; second, e-commerce platforms cannot condone merchants’ mischief , the access and daily management should be strictly controlled, and effective measures should be taken to curb the willful behavior of the merchants; the three, the regulatory authorities should do more to make those merchants who deliberately confuse the public and sell illegally and illegally show their true colors and dare not act as a demon. .