Welcoming the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation's nationwide public health alert and formal ban against unauthorised skin-lightening cosmetics containing excessive levels of heavy metals, a top advocacy group has urged the regulator to widen the scope of the ban to cover all such products still openly sold in India.
Toxics Link called the regulatory action an important step toward protecting consumers from toxic and potentially hazardous cosmetic products, claiming the step is the result of its campaig for stronger controls on mercury-containing skin-lightening cosmetics for years.
Experts regard mercury as a potent neurotoxic substance, whose exposure can affect the nervous system and kidneys. Repeated use of mercury-containing creams can result in absorption of mercury through the skin, while environmental contamination can occur when such products enter wastewater and waste streams.
Pregnant women, infants and young children may be particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of mercury exposure. India is a party to the Minamata Convention on Mercury, and reducing exposure to mercury is central to protecting both human health and the environment.
Following Toxics Link's sustained advocacy, it claimed, in July the Maharashtra Food and Drugs Administration acted against nine skin-lightening cosmetic products, which contain excessive levels of mercury and, in one case, lead. It urged national regulatory authorities to extend such action across the country, noting that toxic products could continue to reach consumers through retail outlets, informal markets and online platforms.
The organisation has expressed satisfaction at seeing CDSCO act through nationwide public health warnings and a formal ban, but cautioned that more toxic skin-lightening and skin-brightening products remain openly available and sold in India and need to be brought under the nationwide prohibition.
It urged the regulator to restrict the sale, use, distribution and import of all skin-lightening and skin-brightening products containing mercury above the permissible limit of 1 ppm. Such products can pose serious risks to the health of consumers and must be removed from the market to protect public health, the organisation said, noting that earlier reports from Nagpur hospitals had revealed several cases of illness among women using skin-lightening fairness products over the past years.
Satish Sinha, Associate Director of Toxics Link, said the organisation welcomed CDSCO's timely action against unauthorised skin-lightening products containing excessive levels of heavy metals. He noted that Toxics Link has been consistently raising concerns about the presence of mercury and other toxic substances in skin-lightening cosmetics and the serious risks they pose to consumers.
According to Sinha, the latest action demonstrates the importance of strong regulatory surveillance and coordinated enforcement across the country, and the organisation hopes the regulatory measures taken will ensure that these products are no longer available in the market.
Toxics Link has called for continued nationwide surveillance and testing of skin-lightening and other cosmetic products for mercury and other hazardous substances, strong monitoring of online marketplaces as well as retail and informal markets, swift recall and removal of non-compliant products from the market, effective enforcement against manufacturers, importers, distributors and sellers of unauthorised or unsafe cosmetics, stronger customs and import controls to prevent non-compliant cosmetic products from entering India, and greater public awareness so consumers can identify and avoid unauthorised skin-lightening products.
Toxics Link is an Indian environmental research and advocacy organisation set up in 1996, engaged in disseminating information to help strengthen the campaign against toxics pollution, provide cleaner alternatives, and bring together groups and people affected by this problem. Its mission statement is "Working together for environmental justice and freedom from toxins."
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