Medical Device Advertising Rules in Singapore under GN-08

1. Key takeaways

In Singapore, any information published, circulated or transmitted to promote the sale or use of a medical device constitutes an advertisement, governed by Part V of the Health Products Act and GN-08, the Guidance on Medical Device Advertisements and Sales Promotion. Two core red lines apply: first, claims to the public that a device can prevent, relieve or cure any of 19 specified diseases or conditions are prohibited; second, devices labelled for professional use only must not be advertised to the public, unless distributed only to qualified practitioners. All medical device advertisements must additionally comply with the Singapore Code of Advertising Practice (SCAP), administered by the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (ASAS).

• Singapore has no pre-approval or licensing regime for medical device advertisements; responsibility rests with the advertiser.
• The definition of advertisement is broad and expressly includes social media.
• The 19-disease list is an absolute prohibition, independent of the strength of your evidence.
• HSA explicitly forbids use of the HSA name and logo in advertisements.

2. Legal basis

The regime rests on Part V of the Health Products Act 2007, the HSA page on advertisements and promotions of medical devices, and GN-08 with its Annex A listing acceptable product claims for Class A devices. The key elements are set out below.

GN-08 and the HSA page also state general principles for advertisements, summarised in the following table.

3. Expert insights

Five practical risk points recur in our review of client marketing materials for Singapore.

Insight 1: there is no pre-approval for medical device advertising, but the responsibility sits with the advertiser. HSA states expressly that it is the responsibility of the advertiser to ensure compliance with legislation and guidelines. Medical devices do not need a dedicated advertising permit (unlike some other health product categories), but no approval does not mean no regulation — violations are borne by the advertiser.

Insight 2: the definition of advertisement is extremely broad, and social media is expressly listed. The HSA enumeration includes social media platforms, such as videos, reels, still posts and testimonials. Product content on social channels, KOL collaborations and user testimonials all fall within this framework. This is where overseas consumer brands most easily go wrong — transplanting domestic social media marketing habits directly into Singapore puts you close to the red lines.

Insight 3: the 19-disease list is an absolute prohibition, not an evidentiary threshold. For these 19 diseases or conditions, any claim of prevention, relief or cure is disallowed, regardless of whether evidence exists. The list includes diabetes, hypertension, cancer, sexual dysfunction and infertility — precisely the areas most frequently claimed by health and wellness products.

Insight 4: the advertising scope restriction for professional-use devices is frequently violated. Professional-use devices may only be advertised to qualified practitioners or in publications intended to circulate among practitioners. Posting professional device content on a public social media account constitutes a violation, even if the account has a small or professional-looking following.

Insight 5: the HSA name and logo must not be used. Many companies like to write that a product is HSA certified or HSA approved in their promotions. HSA expressly prohibits use of the HSA name and logo in advertisements. Registered in Singapore is a statement of fact; HSA certified or HSA recommended is a violation.

4. Practical recommendations

The following controls keep marketing output inside the boundaries described above.

1. Establish a pre-publication advertising review checklist, with social media content as the priority.
2. Check every line of promotional copy against the 19-disease prohibited list.
3. Draw a clear boundary between professional-use and public-facing publication: professional content stays out of public channels.
4. Remove all uses of the HSA name or logo and all certification or endorsement wording.
5. Index the scientific evidence behind every claim in advance, ready for HSA inspection.
6. Comply with SCAP in parallel: both sets of rules must be passed.

Regulatory information verified as of: 26 October 2026

Source level: Tier 2 (official HSA advertising and promotions page; GN-08), Tier 1 (Health Products Act 2007, Part V)

5. Verification checklist

• □ Promotional content has been assessed against the definition of advertisement, including social media
• □ Prevention, relief and cure claims for the 19 prohibited diseases have been excluded
• □ Professional-use devices have not been advertised to the public
• □ No use of the HSA name, logo, or certification or endorsement wording
• □ No testimonials or endorsements from medical professionals
• □ No absolute claims such as 100 percent safe or guaranteed cure
• □ All claims are supported by scientific evidence and can be indexed
• □ SCAP requirements have been checked in parallel

How GRZAN can help. GRZAN provides medical device and IVD registration, quality system, authorised representative and local testing support across Southeast Asia, including Singapore. Our team prepares dossiers to ASEAN CSDT structure, manages submissions and deficiency responses with HSA, and supports post-market vigilance obligations. Business enquiries: info@grzanglobal.com