AN ENVIRONMENT advocacy coalition that monitors products with toxic content asked the Quezon City government to put a stop to the sale of听whitening听products听banned by the听Philippine听Food and Drug Administration.听听

The Ecological Waste Coalition of the Philippines, Inc. (EcoWaste Coalition), in a press release, said they found during a market monitoring activity听at least seven brands of听skin products with听high mercury concentrations听being听openly sold in听the city.听听听

鈥淭o protect public health from the health-damaging effects of exposure to mercury in skin whitening cosmetics, we request the Quezon City Government to crack down on the illegal sale of such products,鈥澨齮he group听said听in a letter addressed to Mayor Maria Josefina听鈥淛oy鈥澨鼼.听Belmonte.听听

The seven听banned听products bought and tested by EcoWaste Coalition were:听听听

Collagen Plus Vit E Day and Night Cream from Indonesia, Erna Whitening Cream, Pakistan-made Goree Beauty Cream with Lycopene,听Goree Day and Night Cream,听China-made Jiaoli 7-Days Specific Eliminating Freckle AB Set, Jiaoli Miraculous Cream, and S鈥橺itang 10-Days Eliminating Freckle Day and Night Set.听

Mercury is a poison that can cause kidney damage, skin rashes, skin discoloration and scarring, reduced skin resistance to bacterial and fungal infections, anxiety, psychosis, and peripheral neuropathy, according to the World Health Organization.听听

鈥淲e specifically request the City Health Department and other concerned offices to enforce the penalty provision of Quezon City Ordinance No. 2767 to encourage business compliance to the law,鈥澨鼸coWaste, a network of more than 150 environment groups in the country,听said in the letter to the city mayor.听听

The ordinance听bans听and penalizes听the manufacture, distribution and sale of mercury-containing skin whitening cosmetics in the听city.听鈥斕齅arielle C. Lucenio听

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