NAFDAC Raises Alarm Over Bleaching Cream Mania

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised the alarm over a proliferation of “dangerous” and “unregulated” bleaching creams in the market which it likened to a pandemic.

The agency made this known on Tuesday during its ‘Media Sensitization Workshop on the Dangers of Bleaching Creams and Regulatory Controls’ held in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

The Director General of the agency, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, further lamented the health threats accompanying long-term use of dangerous agents and urged Nigerian women to be proud of their skin colour, saying, “There’s no need to bleach.”

Adeyeye, who was represented by the agency’s Director of Chemical Evaluation and Research, Dr Patrick Leonard Omokpariola, stated that the products are now marketed under different names for sales purposes.

NAFDAC Deputy Director, Ebele Anto, also canvassed the support of the media to sensitise Nigerians to the notion that there is nothing wrong with being dark-skinned.

The event was also attended by security agencies and other stakeholders in the cosmetic industry.