FDA warns pregnant women against baby skin bleaching pills

The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), has warned women in Ghana against a growing trend of taking pills during pregnancy to lighten the skin of their unborn babies while they are still in the womb.

Medical experts say these illegal drugs can cause birth defects, including damage to limbs and internal organs.

FDA says using Glutathione pills for this purpose is dangerous, adding that it wants the public to know that they have not approved any product in the form of a tablet to lighten the skin of the unborn child.

According to the FDA, this practice is growing in Ghana, with pills often smuggled into the country inside luggage in large quantities.

Although comprehensive data has not yet been gathered, the Body says market surveillance and stakeholder activities have revealed that the trend is among women across socio-economic divides.

Security agencies and the police are working together to arrest and prosecute companies and individuals in possession of the illegal drugs.