Story by Cordelia Ngara
THE use of unapproved skin-lightening creams and body enlargement products continues unabated, with the uptake seemingly being normalised in Zimbabwe.
Skin-lightening creams and body parts enlargement pills have become a major source of worry in the streets of Harare.
Many women are into these enhancers to boost their physical appearances and yet are not aware of the consequences.
The drugs are being sold on the streets and at every corner in Mbare and Harare’s Central Business District.
The ZBC News crew secretly filmed the traders in Mbare, who appeared oblivious to the calamitous consequences on the end user.
Linah Dube noted, ‘‘Skin lightening has become a major hit among women, particularly commercial sex workers who are throwing caution to the wind by using injectables and assuming a yellowish pigmentation.’’
Tinashe said, ‘‘The drugs are awash in many streets and we don’t know about the side effects.’’
While several people, especially women seek to rewrite the course of nature, many are of the view that this is a journey into an abyss.
After gathering these views, we raised this concern with the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ), which also raised the red flag over the flooding of unregistered drugs.
Chief Regulatory Officer Enforcement of Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe Mrs Caroline Dandira Samatanga noted, “Skin lightening creams can actually cause liver and heart damage, they can affect your hair pigmentation and even your eyes. So cause various cancers including skin cancer. So we are greatly discouraging the public from using these products as they are not beneficial we have not accessed their quality.’’
While the sale of drugs is big business for many, the truth is that they are capitalising on the ignorance of the gullible end users.
