The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has warned against bleaching creams that contain mercury compounds, saying it causes serious skin cancer and kidney disease as well as other complex health issues.
NAFDAC’s deputy director in charge of cosmetics and medical devices, drug evaluation and research, Pharmacist Ebele Anto, stated this while addressing journalists at the North-East Zonal Sensitisation Workshop on the Dangers of Bleaching Creams and Regulatory Control on Wednesday in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
She noted that most of the bleaching products contain mercury, hydroquinone, and steroids which cause kidney disease and severe skin cancer as well as premature.
According to her, ”it also depends on how long someone is using bleaching products and the area he/she is applying the cream as well as the kind of ingredients implicated, that determines the danger and damage that can be done to the body in general”.
“Skin bleaching reduces the concentration or production of melanin in the skin, melanin is a pigment produced by cells called melanocytes”.
“The amount of melanin in your skin is mostly determined by genetics”.
“The massage we are passing is that people should desist from using bleaching creams or products because of these dangers”.
“And more so, why engage in such a thing when you will keep using it to still continue maintaining that skin color”.
She advised people to accept their skin color as a unique gift, saying “it is better for you to be proud of your black skin and embrace it as a culture and know that its beautiful and black is beauty, we are proud to be black”.
“Our massage is that we encourage that your black skin is beautiful and so desist from using bleaching agents because of the health implications and economic impact because you started using it you will continue in order to maintain the skin color” she added.
Meanwhile, countries like Ghana and Cameroon and other African nations have banned the use of skin bleaching products because of the dangers associated with them.
Dr. Abubakar Jimoh, Director Public Affairs NAFDAC, in his address said that the agency required the media to combat the bleaching epidemic among Nigerians, saying “NAFDAC cannot do it alone”.
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