The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), yesterday, tasked journalists and entertainers in the South East on the need to join the agency in its current war against use of bleaching cream.
It stated that the country is ranked highest in the use of bleaching cream in Africa, with its attendant health implications.
While making this known during the South East Media Sensitisation Workshop on Dangers of Bleaching Creams and Regulatory Controls, the Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Moji Adeyeye, said that all hands must be on deck to check the ugly trend.
Adeyeye, who was represented by Director of Chemical Evaluation and Research, Dr. Leonard Omokpariola, noted that it is imperative to warn people of the region and Nigerians, in general, on harmful effects of bleaching creams, including cancer and damage to organs.
According to her, other dangers are skin irritation, allergy, skin burn, rashes, wrinkles, premature skin ageing and prolonged healing of wounds.
Adeyeye said: “Last year, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, acting on resolutions of the Senate, wrote to NAFDAC stressing the need to take stringent regulatory actions to stem the 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 in trade fair complexes that have resulted in large seizures and destruction of products.”
