Mercury is considered one of the most toxic elements for plants and animals.\r\nNevertheless, in the Middle East, Asia and Latin America, whitening creams containing\r\nmercury are being manufactured and purchased, despite their obvious health risks. Due to\r\nthe mass distribution of these products, this can be considered a global public health issue.\r\nIn Mexico, these products are widely available in pharmacies, beauty aid and health stores.\r\nThey are used for their skin lightening effects. The aim of this work was to analyze the\r\nmercury content in some cosmetic whitening creams using the cold vapor technique\r\ncoupled with atomic absorption spectrometry (CV-AAS). A total of 16 skin-lightening\r\ncreams from the local market were investigated. No warning information was noted on the\r\npackaging. In 10 of the samples, no mercury was detected. The mercury content in six of\r\nthe samples varied between 878 and 36,000 ppm, despite the fact that the U.S. Food and\r\nDrug Administration (FDA) has determined that the limit for mercury in creams should be\r\nless than 1 ppm. Skin creams containing mercury are still available and commonly used in\r\nMexico and many developing countries, and their contents are poorly controlled.
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