INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Environmental group EcoWaste Coalition has called out 10 beauty product stores in Quezon City for selling skin-lightening items containing mercury — a health-damaging chemical.
In a statement on Monday, EcoWaste expressed its disappointment at the stores even after a city-wide ban was already adopted in 2018 through Ordinance No. 2767 ahead of the 2020 phase-out deadline for mercury-added cosmetics under the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
“As part of its vigilant campaign to protect women and other vulnerable populations from mercury poisoning, [we] again visited retail hubs in Cubao, Novaliches, and Commonwealth on January 19 and 20 to check store compliance with the mercury cosmetic ban,” the group said.
“Much to our disappointment, we found at least 10 stores still selling mercury-contaminated facial and underarm whitening creams from Pakistan and Thailand. This is despite the recent store inspections conducted by the QCHD in response to the complaints we lodged against the errant sellers,” it added.
Before this, the group monitored 28 retail stores selling skin-lightening products with mercury above the maximum limit of one part per million (ppm), which was banned by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Nov. 11, 26, and 27 last year.
READ: EcoWaste to Manila malls: Stop selling mercury-containing cosmetics
After this, EcoWaste reported its findings to Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte and Dr. Ramona Asuncion Abarquez of the Quezon City Health Department.
The group stressed that mercury “inhibits the body’s melanin production, causing the skin to appear whiter.”
However, people exposed to mercury through dermal absorption, inhalation of its vapors, and ingestion “can result in skin discoloration, rashes and scarring, and reduced ability of the skin to resist bacterial and fungal infections.”
Worst, EcoWaste said the exposure could “damage the kidneys and the central nervous system, causing anxiety, depression, hallucinations, personality changes, and tremors.”