From Andrew Ajijah, Jos
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control NAFDAC has called on journalists to help in educating people on the dangers of bleaching agents in order to safeguard the health of the people. .
The Director General ( DG) of NAFDAC, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, made the appeal on Friday during a one-day sensitisation workshop for journalists in the North Central Zone, held in Jos, Plateau State.
The DG, represented by the Director of Chemical Evaluation and Research, Dr. Leonard Omokpariola, said the workshop became necessary following the vital role journalists play in dissemination information to the general public, calling on them to amplify the agency’s campaign to eradicate the menace of bleaching creams in the country.
According to her, NAFDAC has prohibited the use of skin toning creams following its harmful effect on citizens of the country, urging those involved in the act to desist from it for their own safety.
“It is therefore a great pleasure for me to declare open this Media sensitisation workshop while urging you to assist NAFDAC in publicising and disseminating knowledge acquired to the general public.
“I thank you for your collaboration and support for NAFDAC to rid the country of the menace of substandard and falsified medicines, unwholesome foods in the country as a deliberate strategy of mobilising, educating, sensitising, and challenging Nigerian Health Journalists to play frontline role in our concerted efforts to eradicate the menace of bleaching creams and needless waste of scarce resources in Nigeria,” Adeyeye said.
She also warned against the use of eyelashes, eye liner, lipstick, shampoo and powder as well as products that are not regulated by the agency but could be harmful to the organs of human beings.
Also speaking, deputy Director, Drug Evaluation and Research, Mrs Anto Ebele, said highly bleached skin when exposed to the sunlight may cause cancer disease which could lead to death.
Ebele urged mothers not to use skin bleaching creams on skins of their babies, saying that it was capable of causing premature aging in children.
She said that the use of chemicals to change the colour of the hair affects growth in hair and damages the skin, adding that hair dye among women could cause bone cancer.
According to her, statistics available revealed that 77 % of Nigerians particularly women engage in skin bleaching and the use artificial nails .
“Creams was prevalent among 77 percent of Nigerian women which was highest in Africa compared to 59 percent in Togo, 35 per cent in south Africa and 27 percent women in Senegal,” she said.
She, therefore called on stakeholders to educate people on the dangers of bleaching cream and ensure the consumers are well educated before purchasing such products
Earlier, the President Association of Nigeria Health Journalists, Mr Hassan Zaggi said, the workshop was aimed at educating journalists to report the negative effect of the use of bleaching and anti aging cream that are harmful to the skin.
Zaggi said that the training was necessitated by a resolution by the national Assembly which mandated NAFDAC to embark on the campaign against use of prohibited bleaching cosmetics and other contra band drugs.
The Voice reports that so far, 500 journalists have been trained in Abuja, Lagos, Kano and Plateau states on .
The workshop had in attendance producers and marketers of cosmetics and other bleaching agents in the zone.
