It is no longer a rumour that some pregnant women take specific drugs which would make their babies when they are delivered fair complexioned.
The story made the headlines a few months ago and we thought commenting on it with a view to prompting the relevant authorities to step in would be in our general interest.
The Gender Ministry could assist the Health Ministry in educating women about this dangerous misuse of drugs especially during pregnancy.
We would have thought that the notion that being fair is beautiful is no longer tenable. We have been wrong after all, especially, as bleaching continues to be a feature of many women in our societies – the side effects of the aberration notwithstanding.
It is a fact that if these women understand the implications of the phenomenon, they would desist from it immediately. Unfortunately, the level of illiteracy is still high among the feminine gender of our population.
It is also a fact that most of those who bleach fall in the category of those who cannot read and write. That is why we think that education can play a major role in disabusing their minds of the dangerous steps they take in the name of making them more beautiful; if indeed complexion determines beauty.
It is even more worrying that the babies yet unborn are being made to suffer from the bleaching trend if the chemicals really affect their colour at birth. We are unable to fathom how certain chemicals are able to change the complexion of babies even before they are born thereby altering this important natural identity, complexion.
Unfortunately, those who engage in it cannot be apprehended and charged for drug abuse. It is so for the general drug abuse which is a dangerous feature of our communities across the country.
Husbands, if they can, must monitor their wives to establish whether they are abusing drugs especially when they are pregnant. It might sound difficult but we think that it can be done when we ensure that the antenatal drugs they take are prescribed by doctors and not those bought over the counter.
It is time a major clampdown on drug abuse is undertaken by the Food And Drugs Authority (FDA) in the country.
We have learnt about a drug which is trending dangerously across the country especially in the North. We do not know the generic name but is generally called Tramol. The youth are getting hooked to it in a manner which should attract the attention of health authorities.
In combination with another substance, we hear it gives those dependent upon it a certain level of ‘highness.’ Recently a certain suspect even while in court asked for it when it was obvious that he was suffering from a withdrawal symptom of the highly addictive substance.