NAFDAC decries use of bleaching creams by Nigerian women

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Friday decried the growing use of bleaching cream by women in Nigeria.

The NAFDAC Director-General, Mojisola Adeyeye, who addressed participants at a sensitization programme in Jos, Plateau State, blamed the growing reliance on bleaching cream in the country on ignorance occasioned by poor sensitization of the danger of such a practice.

Represented by the Director of Chemical Evaluation and Research, Dr Leonard Omokpariola, the NAFDAC chief urged Nigerians to support the agency in the efforts to rid the country of dangerous bleaching creams.

She said: “As we don’t want you to eat food that will cause you problems, we also don’t want you to use creams that will cause problems for you in the future.

“It is imperative for me to warn that some of the harmful effects of bleaching creams include cancer, damage to vital organs of the body, skin irritation and allergy, skin burn and rashes, wrinkles, premature skin aging, and prolonged healing of wounds.

“A World Health Organisation 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.

“This scary statistic has shown that the menace of bleaching creams in Nigeria has become a national health emergency that requires a multi-faced regulatory approach.”

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