To Protect Women's Health: EcoWaste Coalition Calls for Crack Down on Mercury-Laced Skin Lightening Products
As the International Women’s Day is observed today, a toxics
watchdog group urged the authorities to clamp down on importers, distributors
and retailers of skin lightening products containing mercury, a highly hazardous
chemical banned in cosmetic formulations.
The EcoWaste Coalition’s latest push for law enforcement action followed a
recent ban on eight skin fairness cosmetics from Pakistan by the government of
Bangladesh, two of which --- Golden Pearl Beauty Cream and Goree Beauty Cream
--- are also banned in the Philippines but still sold locally by unscrupulous
traders.
“Despite the public health warnings issued by the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA), the illegal importation and sale of these mercury-tainted skin
lightening creams from Pakistan continues, posing a serious health risk,
particularly for women and girls who apply them onto their face in the hope of whitening
their skin,” noted Thony Dizon, Chemical Safety Campaigner, EcoWaste Coalition.
“Toxic mercury accumulates in the body and can damage the kidneys, central nervous
system and the skin itself. Exposure to
mercury also increases the risk of reproductive disorders among women of childbearing
age, which may also affect the unborn child,” he warned.
To prove their claim, the group bought samples of the banned Golden Pearl and
Goree products from retailers at popular bargain malls in Pasay City for P200
and P250, respectively. The FDA banned
the former in 2014 and the latter in 2017 for containing mercury above the
maximum limit of one part per million (ppm) as per the ASEAN Cosmetic
Directive.
The group then screened the samples bought for mercury using a handheld X-Ray
Fluorescence (XRF) analytical device.
Golden Pearl was found to be contaminated with 10,700 ppm of mercury,
while Goree had 24,000 ppm.
“To stop the flow of mercury-containing cosmetics into the country and to
protect women’s health, we call upon the authorities to support a ‘brown is
beautiful’ advocacy and to wage a sustained crackdown against importers, distributors and retailers of such proscribed
products, including those who sell these health-damaging items in online
shopping sites,” Dizon said.
“As these products are unlawfully sold in major cities and municipalities, the
campaign should be undertaken nationwide with the essential participation of local
government, health and police units, the media and the civil society,” he said.
Sustained public awareness and law enforcement campaign will support the
implementation of the government’s National Action Plan for the Phase-Out of
Mercury-Added Products and the Management of Associated Mercury-Containing Wastes
adopted in June 2019, Dizon pointed out.
The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) last March 2 announced it
has detected high levels of mercury and/or hydroquinone in eight out of 13 skin
fairness creams from Pakistan that are sold in the market and online, warning
importers, shop owners and online sellers of punitive measures for those who
will defy the ban.
Mercury-containing skin lightening products are hazardous to health, according
to the World Health Organization (WHO), and as a result have been banned in
many countries.
“Even in some countries where such products have been banned, they are still
advertised and available to consumers via the Internet and other means,” the
WHO said.
According to WHO: “To stop the
manufacture, import and export of skin lightening products in line with the
Minamata Convention, regulatory actions by governments are needed – including
training of customs agents – as well as major media and advocacy campaign.”
-end-
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