JEDDAH – Customs, the Ministry of Commerce and Investment and Saudi Food and Drug Administration have joined hands in a vigorous hunt for fake make-up products and cosmetics flooding the local market in a bid to root out sham businesses that bring these health hazards into the market. Low price and being handy are the main factors that have led to the spread of counterfeit make up products and cosmetics in the market and becoming the shoppers' pick. According to a dealer in one of the markets here, price plays an important part in buying these wares. She indicated that fake international brands are priced at SR100 to SR500, which is far cheaper than the price of the original product. Abeer Al-Yami, a victim of these counterfeit products that affected her skin and deformed her face, explains that the seller had assured her of the quality of products bought from a popular market in central Jeddah. "But after using the product my skin turned itchy, first, followed by dark-color blotches that distorted my face. The reasons for the eruptions on my face were due to these products, which were counterfeit and sold in the market at the same price of the original,» she said. Fatima Abdullah said that she too underwent a similar situation. «What shocked me is the deceit of people. They take advantage of customers and manipulate them. Where's the control over the markets? Isn't it fraudulent that a specific product is sold for SR300, only to discover later that it›s fake and of poor quality and in fact is worth SR50,» she added. Wafaa Ahmad, a beauty expert, said beauty salon owners care about reputation, adding «Most cosmetic experts never use fake products to ensure the safety of their clients.» But, she reflected, that there is a group that does not care about this, or perhaps do not have an idea of the terrible damage that fake products can cause. More often then not, these goods are sold at the original price of the brand. Lawyer Majid Garoub, a member of the anti-fraud and counterfeiting in the international chamber, believes that the proliferation of these products is largely due to smuggling of products through customs ports, in addition to the deception practiced by vendors on Instagram and other social media outlets. «It›s most likely these goods come via the Internet using direct shipping. This is a reality we›re struggling with while tackling fraud and counterfeiting in cosmetics, perfumes and other products,» he said. Garoub sees that the low cost of producing cosmetic brands that are counterfeits enables people to make high profits if the consumer buys them in droves. The low-cost with high profits yields from these shoddy products become the focus of the underground economy. Dermatologist Suleiman Al-Eid warned of the damage that these counterfeit make-up products could wreak on the consumer's health. He explained that fake cosmetic products contain non-certified and non-licensed materials, mostly that is banned in many countries. He said the materials used in the fake products cause harm to humans, since they contain ‹poison› that enters the bloodstream and accumulates in the body over time and accelerates the appearance of wrinkles and rashes, causes imbalance in the hormonal system, triggers many disorders of the immune, reproductive systems and the nervous system, and brings about depression as well.
