NATIONAL Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) said it will rid the markets and stores of manufacturers and sellers of unapproved bleaching creams.

The agency said it will begin its enforcement with cosmetic stores and makers of bleaching creams, who use unapproved and excessive actives.

Noting that more men than women patronise and use bleaching creams, NAFDAC warned Nigerians against use of unapproved products.

It listed the damaging effects of such deadly products: aging, kidney and nervous system, cancers, skin infections, increase dependence on the creams, and unwanted and untreatable discolouration.

The agency spoke at a workshop organised by NAFDAC, in collaboration with Association of Nigeria Health Journalists (ANHEJ).

Acting Director-General, Dr. Monica Eimunjeze, said: “We will be moving to full enforcement. We have Nigerians on notice. We have had some operations in the past, but there have been a few. Enforcement will commence in cosmetic stores because you walk into a cosmetic store and see prescription medicines offered up for sale as cosmetics.

“However, there are lightening, whitening and glowing products that have regulatory approval. But what we are talking about are those products that do not have any regulatory approval. This is because we cannot speak to what is in the product.

‘’There are those that sit and mix, and it is usually a cocktail of products, and usually they are not ready to disclose what is inside – that is the problem. Most times, it is a mixture of a steroid or two, a chemical or two which you do not know. There is also a base lotion which is usually innocuous.”