The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has advised Nigerians against the use of bleaching or “whitening” chemicals because they are precursors to cancer and kidney malfunction, among others.
The Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Moji Adeyeye, gave the advice during an interview with print media organizations on Thursday, 24th January 2019 in Abuja.
According to the NAFDAC boss, the advice became necessary against the backdrop of the seizure of a large quantity of about four trucks of glutathione and other 'whitening' chemicals confiscated recently by the agency at trade fair complex in Lagos, Lagos state. She added that there are many people involved in these 'whitening' chemicals, from glutathione injection to the tablets and other 'whitening' chemicals. Adding that, the Agency concerned about glutathione because it can cause skin cancer as well as kidney dysfunction and failure; this is what people do not know.
More so, the NAFDAC DG further called on Nigerians dealing in genuine foods and chemical products to ensure that their products get tested and registered with the Agency for safe consumption and usage. To achieve the desired result, she called for interagency cooperation as well as synergy as an effective tool of managing importation of illicit drugs and other harmful substances to Nigeria.
She stressed that multi-agency cooperation and synergy will also go a long way toward addressing the issue of importation of some of these chemicals into Nigeria. For emphasize, according to her, most of these chemicals come into the country from China. According to the NAFDAC DG, to nib the menace in the bud, role of the Foreign Affairs and Finance Ministries, as well as other relevant Government Agencies can go a long way in mitigating the scourge.
