People, it seems, want to be pale. A mixture of vanity and naivete is forcing people to inhibit the natural production of melanin which gives colour to our skin.
Marketers are exploiting this worldwide trend for a paler skin. It is a billion-dollar global industry. One estimate sees the market growing to US$23 billion (RM95.7 billion) by 2020.
If you think wanting to be pale is only a Caribbean thing, you cannot be more wrong. Look at the airtime given to skin-lightening products in Malaysian television stations and you will get the feel for the scale of their sales.
Leading the way are lotions and creams, closely followed by serums and toners. Scrubs, foams and gels are not too far behind. The sales pitches are often pathetic, and their commercials, crass.
But people make a beeline for the “palers”.
This is so despite the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) of the Ministry of Health repeatedly warning of the danger in using such products.
For 2018, NPRA’s website lists 27 skin-lightening products that people should stay away from because they contain hydroquinone, tretinoin and mercury. Prolonged use of products that contain these chemicals can damage the skin, liver and kidney. This is no old wives’ tale. Much research has been done by the global medical fraternity and they point to the great danger posed to our organs and nervous system by the prolonged use of such products, be they creams, pills or serums.
Some may ask why disturb the market where willing buyers and willing sellers do their trade. Good question, but is the buyer really “willing”? A buyer who is blinded by the lethal combination of vanity and naivete cannot be said to be “willing” in any sense.
What’s more, in cases such as these where the health risks posed by the products are not highlighted to the buyer. To borrow some words from Denning LJ in J Spurling Ltd v Bradshaw, the more the health risks, the greater the notice which must be given of it.
We would even say as the late English judge went to say in that case, the marketers need to print the warning “in red ink on the face of the document with a red hand pointing to it before the notice could be held to be sufficient.” Perhaps then we can say there is a willing buyer and a willing seller. Until then, the market must perforce be disturbed.
Something else needs to be done as well. The Pharmacy Enforcement Division of the Ministry of Health which is charged with ensuring compliance with the laws and regulations of the supply, marketing and advertising of skin-lightening products may need to increase their intelligence work and raids.
NPRA is no doubt doing a good job by highlighting the dangers of skin whiteners in their website, but it is neither adequate nor sufficient. There are far too many gullible people around and unscrupulous marketers can and do easily exploit them. Other means of educating the consumers must be explored. People must be made aware of their dangerous pursuit.