The South West area has been the focus of a sensitization campaign against the indiscriminate use of bleaching creams by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
As a result, it has issued a warning to Nigerians, advising them to always check the chemical makeup of any cosmetics before using them.
Selected Journalists from the South West region of the country, comprising Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Ekiti, and Ogun, attended the media sensitization campaign launch on Friday in Ibadan.
Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, Director General of NAFDAC, cautioned that bleaching products have long-term effects on the consumer while launching the campaign.
She urged reporters to treat the issue of bleaching creams seriously in light of its severe drawbacks and explained that the workshop was a “training the Trainers’ program with the great expectation that participants will assume the role of champions in the vanguard of the campaign against the use of bleaching creams.”
In his presentation on “Safe Handling of Chemicals and Ingredients in the Cosmetics and Food Industry,” Dr. Patrick Leonard Omokpariola, Director of Chemical Evaluation and Research, cautioned Nigerians to make sure they examine the chemical makeup of any cosmetics items before usage.
He disclosed that numerous cosmetic products and possibly hazardous substances are utilized in hairstyling, skincare, and nail treatments.
He claims that both cosmetics users and experts constantly breathe these dangerous chemical compounds.
He cautioned Nigerians against using any cosmetics that contain substances like methyl methacrylate, which is a chemical used in nail products.
Such chemicals, he claimed, have been linked to cancer, reproductive harm, organ system harm, cellular harm, neurological harm, irritation, and corrosive effects.
