The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has warned Nigerians not to use unapproved cosmetics because the dangers were largely irreversible.
The Director-General NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, gave the warning during the media sensitisation workshop on the dangers of bleaching creams and regulatory controls for South-South Journalists in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.
Adeyeye, who was represented by Dr. Leonard Omokpariola, the Director of Drug Evaluation and Research, said the menace of unapproved cosmetics such as bleaching creams in Nigeria had become a national health emergency that required a multi-faced regulatory approach.
According to the NAFDAC D-G, unapproved cosmetics used banned and toxic chemicals to achieve skin-lightening effects that leave the user with undesirable effects.
She listed some of the harmful effects of bleaching creams including cancer, and damage to vital organs of the body like kidneys and liver.
It also causes skin cancer, irritation and allergy, skin burn and rashes, wrinkles, premature skin aging, and prolonged healing of wounds.
The DG said that the World Health Organisation in a 2018 study, revealed that the use of skin bleaching creams was prevalent among 77 percent of Nigerian women which was highest in Africa, compared to 59 percent in Togo, 35 percent in South Africa, and 27 percent women in Senegal.
She said that the essence of the sensitisation workshop was to train Journalists and stakeholders, who will inform the public about the dangers of those cosmetics.
Adeyeye added that the sensitisation workshop was a Train the Trainers programme with the great expectation that participants would assume the role of champions in the campaign against the use of bleaching creams in the country.
She added that after the sensitisation campaign, the agency would take stringent regulatory actions to stem the dangerous tide of rampant and pervasive cases of Nigerians using bleaching creams.
The director general thanked journalists and stakeholders for their collaboration and support for NAFDAC to rid the country of the menace of substandard and falsified medicines, unwholesome foods, corrosive cosmetics, and other substandard regulated products.
Representatives of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, cosmetics manufacturers, supermarket operators, and Nigerian Customs Health officials, among other stakeholders attended the workshop.
Earlier, Dr. Abubakar Jimoh, NAFDAC Director of Public Affairs, said the war against the menace of bleaching cream across the country was a sequel to a resolution of the 2022 Senate, promoted by Sen. Oluremi Tinubu.
According to Jimoh, the Senate resolution crystallised into a memorandum from the Secretary to the Government of the Federation directing NAFDAC to strengthen its regulatory functions to curb the menace.
