• Skin whitening creams, body lotions contain excess of lead, arsenic, mercury, warns beauty salons selling such   

The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) urged the public not to use any cosmetic product manufactured and distributed by various unregistered companies as those products could be hazardous to one’s health and said that strict action will be taken against the parties who are engaged in such businesses, according to the existing legal framework.

The CAA is specifically raiding cosmetic stores that illegally imported such hazardous beauty products, adding that most of them were skin whitening creams and body lotions loaded with dangerously high levels of mercury, posing a serious health risk to consumers.

Against this backdrop, the CAA Director (Consumer Affairs and Information) Asela Bandara told The Daily Morning yesterday (28) that certain people are a bit reluctant to give up using these whitening products and other medicines related to the beauty culture industry, even though the public is always made aware of the risks and adverse effects of these products. He said that a lack of public support and understanding of the impact of these products has hindered the efforts taken by the authorities to prevent people from using them. Stating that the CAA issued a gazette in 2018 under the CAA Act, No. 09 of 2003 to regulate the sale and manufacture of such beauty products, including the maximum limit of heavy metals that could be contained in these products, he said that almost all the beauty products, including the whitening creams taken into custody during raids, contain heavy metals more than a thousand times the standard quantities. 

"According to the said gazette, 10 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) of lead, three mg/kg of arsenic, and one mg/kg of mercury are the standard quantities. But, we have identified certain products that contain 50,000 mg/kg of such. It is even difficult to imagine the impact it causes,” he said. Moreover, Bandara also noted that certain beauty salons are selling these products with their names, which is also prohibited according to the existing laws. He stated that during the period when the import restrictions were imposed, certain parties had manufactured these products within the country. He also noted that according to the particular gazette issued by the CAA, information such as the name of the product, the manufacturer's name, the name of the importer or distributor, the expiration date, and the ingredients must clearly be mentioned. 

He further urged the public, especially women, not to use these hazardous beauty products, which are manufactured in violation of the standard quality and directions given by the related authorities.

Under the National Medical Regulatory Authority Act however, products such as injections can be regulated.