Boholanos Beware: Dangerous Cosmetics with Mercury on Sale in Tagbilaran City
27 June 2024, Quezon City. Banned skin lightening products with high mercury content are sold with impunity not only in Cebu Province but also in the neighboring Bohol Province.
The toxics watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition made this observation after conducting its first-ever market monitoring in Tagbilaran City, the capital city of Bohol, which takes only two hours of travel by ferry from the Port of Cebu.
Following its recent exposé about banned mercury cosmetics on sale in 48 retail kiosks and shops in Cebu, Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue, and Naga Cities, as well as in the town of Minglanilla, the EcoWaste Coalition revealed that the same toxic cosmetics are being offered for sale in Tagbilaran City.
Based on the market monitoring it conducted on June 23, 2024, stocks of unauthorized cosmetics laden with mercury are openly displayed and sold in nine retail kiosks and shops in Tagbilaran City, which has a population of 104,976 people as of the 2020 census.
Of these nine stores, six are located in Tagbilaran City Square, 2 in NC Sarmiento Building, and one in BQ Mall.
“We request the office of Tagbilaran City Mayor Jane Yap to look into this imminent threat to public health and to do what is necessary, including conducting a joint regulatory enforcement action with the FDA Regional Field Office based in Cebu City,” said Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition.
At the time of monitoring, the stores were found selling one or more of these FDA-banned cosmetics: Pakistan-made Goree Beauty Cream with Lycopene and Goree Day & Night Beauty Cream (both were banned in 2017) and Goree Gold 24K Beauty Cream (banned in 2023), and Thailand-made 88 Total White Underarm Cream (banned in 2021).
As stated in the FDA Advisory No. 2017-289, the mercury levels of the tested Goree products exceeded the one part per million (ppm) limit for mercury as a heavy metal contaminant under the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive.
As mentioned in the said advisory, “mercury salts in cosmetic products inhibit the formation of melanin which will result in lighter skin tone.” However, mercury in such products can harm the health of users and non-users alike.
As highlighted in the advisory, the negative health effects of exposure to mercury in skin lightening products include “kidney damage, skin rashes, discoloration, and scarring,” warning that “chronic use reduces skin’s normal resistance against bacterial and fungal infections.”
“Other effects include anxiety, depression or psychosis and peripheral neuropathy,” the advisory said. “The transfer of mercury to fetuses of pregnant women may manifest as neurodevelopmental deficits later in life.”
Even babies and other non-users are not spared as they can breathe mercury vapors emitted from the adulterated cosmetics or get exposed by hugging or kissing persons who have applied such products, especially creams, onto their faces, or by using hankies and towels contaminated with mercury.
The mercury in Goree and other adulterated products will eventually find its way into the environment, contaminating water bodies and the food supply, the EcoWaste Coalition said.
To prevent mercury contamination of the human body and the environment, the group appealed to all Filipinos to embrace our natural skin color and to shun chemical whiteners such as those containing mercury and other hazardous substances, noting “beauty has no skin tone and that all colors are beautiful.” (PR)
Reference:
https://www.fda.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/FDA-Advisory-No.-2017-289.pdf
https://www.fda.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/FDA-Advisory-No.2023-2344.pdf
https://www.fda.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/FDA-Advisory-No.2021-1187.pdf
