The Supreme Council for Media Regulation (SCMR) introduced amendments to the regulations and standards for advertising health services, medical products, food products, and competitions in Egypt by decision no. 9 of 2025 (the “Decision”). The Decision, published in the Egyptian Gazette on March 9, 2025, came into effect as of March 1, 2025, and applies to all press and media institutions operating in Egypt.
The Decision aims to ensure compliance with ethical principles and intellectual property rights, as well as to protect consumers from false, misleading, or deceptive advertising. It also requires obtaining prior approvals from relevant authorities for certain types of advertisements and notifying the Consumer Protection Agency of any competitions.
The main amendments introduced by the Decision are as follows:
- Advertising health services: No advertisement for a medical facility, doctor, or other health service providers, or for the recruitment of foreign experts, shall be made without obtaining approval from the Ministry of Health and Population for the advertised activity. The advertisement should not include methods of diagnosis or treatment and should indicate the license number for practicing the profession or activity throughout the duration of the advertisement. The advertisement should also respect the privacy of patients and adhere to the code of professional ethics.
- Advertising medical products: No medical product should be advertised unless it is registered with the Egyptian Drug Authority, and the registration number must be displayed on the advertisement throughout its duration. The content of the advertisement must comply with all the approvals from the Egyptian Drug Authority without any deletion, addition, or modification.
- Advertising food products: The food
product must be registered with the National Food Safety Authority,
or the establishment must be accredited by the authority, with the
registration or accreditation number detailed throughout the
advertisement period. The advertisement must match the product
label prepared by the company responsible for the advertisement.
Food products should not be advertised as being intended for a
specific dietary program or a particular audience unless this is
documented with certified documents from relevant
authorities.
The advertisement should not imply that the product can replace healthy lifestyle practices or be considered as beneficial health practices. The advertisement should not claim any therapeutic effects from using the food product. Products should not be described or presented in the advertisement in a way that is false, misleading, or deceptive, or that gives a false impression regarding their characteristics in any aspect. - Advertising competitions: No competitions should be advertised for the purpose of promoting a product or otherwise without notifying the Consumer Protection Agency. It is prohibited to advertise any competition before ensuring its authenticity and that it does not involve deceiving consumers or causing harm or discrimination among them. The Consumer Protection Agency should be notified of the names of the winners before they are announced. The competition should be conducted under the supervision of the Ministry of Social Solidarity and have obtained the necessary licenses, in accordance with the law and ministerial decisions regulating this.
We advise you to review your current and planned advertising campaigns and ensure that they comply with the amended regulations and standards. Failure to do so may expose you to penalties and measures that may be imposed by the SCMR or other competent authorities, such as fines, suspension, or revocation of licenses.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
