The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has announced a nationwide tour to warn of the dangers of using bleaching creams prior to the clampdown on bleaching cream manufacturers and sellers.
Speaking in Lagos on Thursday at a media sensitization workshop on the dangers of bleaching cream and regulatory controls, the Agency’s Acting Director General, Dr. Monica Eimunjeze, urged the media to champion the campaign against the skin bleaching pandemic by providing Nigerians with the right information to make the right decision about protecting their health.
Dr. Eimunjeze decried the alarming proliferation of skin bleaching creams and products in the country, to the detriment of the majority of unsuspecting Nigerians.
She stated that the majority of bleaching creams on the market are not registered with the agency and may be harmful to the body. “There are those who are operating covertly in a market where the Agency has yet to implement regulatory control, and consumers must exercise extreme caution when purchasing these creams.”
“We will be moving to full-time enforcement, so Nigerians should be aware,” she said. We’ve had some operations in the past, so we’ll take a closer look this time. When full-time enforcement begins, everyone will understand why we are acting the way we are. “Law ignorance is not an excuse.”
“We see dangers inherent in using these cream products that have not gone through our regulatory process, so we are collaborating with health journalists to help us raise awareness on the products that have not gone through the regulatory process on the impacts these could have on their health.”
She stated that the use of bleaching creams is not only prevalent in Nigeria, but worldwide.
“Most people do not do skincare because when you do skincare, you protect your skin, you use sunscreen, you exfoliate, which is not bad, but when you use harmful chemicals that are dangerous to the layers of the skin and you go out in the sun without protection, you burn,” she added.
Various presentations were also given by experts in the field. Mrs. Anto Ebele gave a presentation titled ‘An Overview of Skin Bleaching: The NAFDAC Perspective,’ while Prof. Adeniyi Abiodun, represented by Dr. Chido Nwakamma, gave a paper titled ‘The Role of the Media in Promoting Public Health in Nigeria.’
“Most people do not do skincare because when you do skincare, you protect your skin, you use sunscreen, you exfoliate, which is not bad, but when you use harmful chemicals that are dangerous to the layers of the skin and you go out in the sun without protection, you burn,” she added.
Various presentations were also given by experts in the field. Mrs. Anto Ebele gave a presentation titled ‘An Overview of Skin Bleaching: The NAFDAC Perspective,’ while Prof. Adeniyi Abiodun, represented by Dr. Chido Nwakamma, gave a paper titled ‘The Role of the Media in Promoting Public Health in Nigeria.’
