Tunde Sholanke
Skin bleaching and the associated act of applying dangerous chemicals on the texture of skin have been in Nigeria for fairly long time amidst collateral health implications to the users.
The act has not only grown inspite of the huge cost to the purse of the users,while the manufacturers of the dangerous bleaching chemicals are more driven by profit motive than conscious efforts to nip the practice in the bud.
Sadly,skin bleaching among women has placed Nigeria on global scale for the wrong reason leaving the country with no option than to renew stringent war against the ignoble act by some Nigerians.
The National Agency For Food And Drug Administration and Control,NAFDAC,is conscious of its roles as a regulator of consumption of harmful foods and substances by Nigerians and had over the years played same perfectly by drawing battlelines with unscrupulous manufacturers of the substances.
The new managers of NAFDAC are not leaving any stone unturned to reduce the huge use of skin bleaching creams and chemicals by constantly battling the manufacturers and reminding users that the act is unpleasant,unhealthy and should be discontinued.
Recently,in the ancient city of Ibadan,Oyo state,the National Agency For Food And Drug Administration And Control,NAFDAC,organized a sensitization workshop for South-West journalists on skin bleaching,as part of its battle against the act and the users of the dangerous chemicals and creams.
Concerns
The National Agency For Food And Drug Administration And Control, NAFDAC, decried the increasing use and abuse of bleaching creams in the country,adding that the dangers associated creams could lead to health problems that could eventually become life-threatening.
Speaking at the workshop, Director General of the agency, Professor Moji Adeyeye,disclosed that those who continue to use and patronise bleaching creams as well as related cosmetic products risk becoming susceptible to cancer and organ system toxicity.
She said: “Last year, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, acting on the resolution of the senate, wrote to NAFDAC stressing the need to take stringent regulatory action to stem the dangerous tide of rampant and pervasive cases of Nigerians using bleaching creams.
“We immediately took some decisive steps such as sensitisation of the public through different media outlets, enforcement through intelligence and raids on trade complexes that have resulted in large seizures and destruction of violating products.”
Disturbing Statistics
She said that the disturbing statistics of people who bleach their skin in Nigeria necessitated NAFDAC’s increased awareness campaign and clamping down on violating products.
She noted that: “A World Health Organization’s (WHO) study in 2018 revealed that use of skin bleaching creams was prevalent among 77% of Nigerian women, which was the highest in Africa compared to 59% in Togo, 35% in South Africa and 27% in Senegal.
“Today’s sensitization workshop is therefore a fulfillment of my promise to cascade it to the six geo-political zones in the country as a deliberate strategy of mobilizing, educating, sensitizing and challenging Nigerian health journalists to play vital roles in our concerted efforts to eradicate the menace of bleaching creams and the waste of scarce resources in Nigeria.”
Caution
She cautioned Nigerians to desist from using bleaching creams,saying they have nothing to gain from patronizing creams that would worsen their health.
“It is imperative for me to warn that some of the harmful effects of bleaching include cancer slowly building up in the body, damage to vital organs of the body, wrinkles, skin irritation, allergies, skin burns, rashes, premature skin aging and prolonged healing of wounds,” she added.
Battlefields
Adeyeye revealed that NAFDAC has been carrying out a lot of raids on manufacturers, stores and the bleaching cosmetics products retail outlets in fulfilment of its mandate of safeguarding the health of the nation.
She said that NAFDAC would heighten surveillance on the Spas in the country and raise sensitisation campaigns on the dangers of continuous use of the bleaching creams.
“We discovered that many operators of the Spas lack knowledge that mixing up different ingredients, either organic or inorganic to form cosmetics can result in a bad effect on the users.Nigerians should always know that black is beautiful and they do not need to bleach their skin to please anyone,” she added
Partnership With Fourth Estate Of The Realm
Professor Adeyeye implored the media to collaborate with the agency to help take the message to the grassroots for improved effectiveness.
She said,competent hands of the agency have been assigned to carry out the media training exercise, saying it became imperative to warn that some of the harmful effects of bleaching creams include cancer, damage to vital organs of the body, skin irritation, allergy, skin burn and rashes, wrinkles, premature skin aging and prolonged healing of wounds.
She said that NAFDAC had organised the sensitisation workshop for the health journalists in different zones of Nigeria, in which the South-West edition in Ibadan was the fourth in Nigeria.
“NAFDAC will continue to recognise the partnership, involvement and important roles of journalists in taking the message of the dangers in the continuous use of bleaching creams to the grassroots through their various platforms, ” she said.
Presentations
The workshop indeed witnessed presentations on concept of skin bleaching,dangers and how best to overcome same,by officials of the agency.
The Deputy Director (DER) of the agency,Anto Ebele,in her presentation,gave comprehensive overview of skin bleaching from NAFDAC’s permm, harping on the social consequences of the menace.
In his presentation,the Director of Chemical Evaluation and Research of NAFDAC, Dr Leonard Omopariola,warned on the dangers of ingredients of bleaching creams such as methyl methacrylate, ethanolamine and hydroquinone among others.
According to him, some manufacturers deliberately leave out the correct names of the ingredients of their products to confuse consumers, hence the need to be more vigilant.
He warned that the chemicals in some cosmetics products “are endocrine disruptors”, saying that it could lead to early puberty and low sperm count in men due to high estrogenic activities.
The agency’s Director, Southwest Zone, Roseline Ajayi, implored Nigerians to be aware of the ingredients contained in what they consume,adding that such awareness makes the difference between health and infirmity.
She emphasized the need for NAFDAC to build capacity and strengthen Cosmetovigilance, a concept of safety monitoring of cosmetics products.
Ajayi added that the increasing adoption of cosmetics products in developed and developing countries would primarily drive the global market growth of the products.
She said:“The risks associated with cosmetics products have elevated the need for cosmetovigilance services,”
Presenting paper on the regulatory controls of cosmetics in Nigeria with particular reference to the effects on human skin,the Deputy Director (DR&R), Linda Halim, said that the skin is the largest organ of the human body and should be protected by all means necessary for the overall well-being of the owner.
Take-Away For Gatekeepers
Dr Abubakar Jimoh, NAFDAC’s Director of Public Affairs, enjoined the media to not only become allies of the agency but become lifetime advocates of the cause to stop skin bleaching in Nigeria.
He also doing so,the media would be seen as playing its surveillance and agenda setting roles effectively in eradicating skin bleaching as well as championing the campaign for healthy living in Nigeria.
Testimonial
About one hundred journalists,comprising prints,electronics and online media in the South-Western part of the country,attended the workshop and commended agency for organizing programme on skin bleaching.
Apart from deepening their understanding on skin bleaching,the workshop provided the journalists opportunity to know what NAFDAC is doing to free Nigeria from dangerous skin bleaching creams.
The gatekeepers appreciated the partnership with the agency to battle skin bleaching and promised to deploy necessary tools to create awareness against the use of dangerous bleaching substances in the country.
The gatekeepers said they look forward to more engaging and value-adding campaign against use of dangerous creams,substances and foods with NAFDAC,promising that they will always act,report and write responsibly to defend Nigeria.
