Advertising compliance

Advertising of health-protection foods is a controlled activity in Vietnam: businesses cannot publish, broadcast, or post advertisements for a TPBVSK until VFA has issued a Certificate of Confirmation of Advertising Content for that specific creative. Mandatory content in every TPBVSK advertisement: • Product name. • Main effect and known side effects (if any). • Name and address of the organisation responsible for the product. • The disclaimer "Thực phẩm này không phải là thuốc và không có tác dụng thay thế thuốc chữa bệnh" in legible contrasting text. In audio-visual formats, the disclaimer must be read aloud; if the ad runs under 15 seconds the read-aloud may be waived, but the on-screen text remains mandatory. Statutory review timeline at VFA is 10 working days from receipt of a complete dossier. Prohibited content includes: disease-cure or disease-treatment claims; wording that the product can replace a drug; testimonials from doctors, pharmacists, or healthcare facilities promoting curative effects; before/after imagery suggesting medical results; or any content not approved in the registered product declaration. The advertising regime applies to all media: TV, radio, print, outdoor, online platforms, social media (including livestream selling), influencer content, and e-commerce listings. The 2024 amendment under Circular 20/2024/TT-BYT refined the dossier requirements for the content-confirmation procedure.

Advertising law framework: • Law on Advertising No. 16/2012/QH13 — establishes the regime for commercial advertising and "special" categories requiring pre-approval, including health-protection foods. • Decree 181/2013/NĐ-CP — issued 14 November 2013. Detailed implementation of the Advertising Law. Article 5 sets out mandatory content and the disclaimer wording for TPBVSK ads. Content-confirmation procedure: • Circular 09/2015/TT-BYT — issued 25 May 2015. Conditions, authority, dossier, and procedure for confirming advertising content of special products under MOH management (drugs, foods, cosmetics, devices). • Circular 20/2024/TT-BYT — issued 14 October 2024. Amends and supplements Circular 09/2015/TT-BYT; refines the content-confirmation dossier. Sanctions: • Decree 38/2021/NĐ-CP — administrative penalties for advertising violations. • Decree 115/2018/NĐ-CP and Decree 124/2021/NĐ-CP — penalties for food-safety-related advertising violations specific to TPBVSK.

2024 — Circular 20/2024/TT-BYT: Issued 14 October 2024. Amends Circular 09/2015/TT-BYT and refines the content-confirmation dossier for advertising of MOH-managed products, including TPBVSK. Removed some duplicative submissions and clarified the channels of distribution covered. 2023–2025 — Livestream and influencer scrutiny: VFA, in coordination with the Ministry of Information and Communications, has expanded enforcement against unapproved TPBVSK promotion on livestream commerce and influencer content, including cases involving doctor or pharmacist appearance. Standing — Common violation patterns: VFA publishes monthly lists of TPBVSK ads that violated the regime: misleading claims, missing disclaimer, doctor/medical-facility endorsement, or advertising before the Certificate of Content Confirmation was issued.