Fake skin products back on market, Ugandans warned

Mar 10, 2017

Some of these products include; carolight, litro light, skin light, pro light, princess tubes, mont Claire soap, coco pulp, top Claire, miki clair.

PIC: URA assistant commissioner enforcement, Agnes Nabwirwe Waiswa displays some of the cosmetics confiscated from traders during a press conference at Uganda Revenue Authority headquarters Nakawa. (Credit: Racheal Nassuuna)

Despite the ban of skin cancer-causing creams and soaps by the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) last year, the products are back on the market.

Some of these products include; carolight, litro light, skin light, pro light, princess tubes, mont Claire soap, coco pulp, top Claire, miki clair, carolite soap, extra clair, la bamakoise, diproson, super Claire among others.
 
This was revealed by Agnes Nabwirwe Waiswa, assistant commissioner enforcement, Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) during a press conference held at URA headquarters in Nakawa on Thursday.

She said in the last few months, smuggling of illegal products into the country especially cosmetics has been rampant.

 
She said last week, a truck containing 1000 cartons of skin creams containing a bleaching chemical known as hydroquinone which causes skin cancer or hair falling fall was intercepted in Kanungu and is at URA head offices.

"What is happening is, most of the manufacturers of these skin and hair products have changed the packaging, while showing the ingredients the cream or soap contains, they hide the hydroquinone chemical, but analysis and tests at UNBS done shows that all these products contain this chemical.
 
"The hydroquinone chemical causes skin cancer and hair fall off on the head and this explains why we have rampant cancers in the country, because many of Ugandan women are bleaching using these products."

The URA official called upon Ugandan women to desist from using these products, adding that soon, URA and UNBS have plans to crack a whip on all shops selling these products and close them down.

 

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