The FDA plans on banning all skin-lightening and bleaching creams and other cosmetic products because a recent study has shown that the hydroquione, known as the main ingredient in these products, may increase risks of cancer in people. Despite the fact that the study has only been carried out on rats and not on humans, the FDA announced that all skin lightening products sold over the counter should be banned.

However, this would not be a definitive ban, but the officials want to check on the products to see if they do not have any side effects on consumers. If the skin bleaching products will be found to work negatively on people's health, the companies involved in this industry will need to submit a new drug application for the FDA's review.

Officials highlight the fact that not all products used for bleaching the skin contain hydroquinone, but 200 of the skin lighteners contain the ingredient suspected to raise risks of cancer. Out of these 200 skin bleaching products containing hydroquinone in amounts from 0.4% to 5%, two thirds "appear to be marketed as OTC (over the counter) drugs."

In its proposal published in the U.S. government's Federal Register, The FDA notes: "The actual risk to humans from use of hydroquinone has yet to be fully determined." "We're acting for safety reasons. There is a potential for hydroquinone to be a carcinogen in humans," stated Susan Johnson, associate director of the FDA's Office of Nonprescription Products.

Hydroquinone based cosmetic products have already been banned in the European Union, Australia and Japan.

African and Asian women, who intensively used such cosmetic products due to the common belief that a fairer skin is more attractive, have reported dramatic results and disorders, including permanent disfigurement and malfunctioning adrenal glands. Also, previous studies found high levels of mercury in African women who used the skin creams containing hydroquinone.

But the companies which produce the skin lightening creams and dermatologists state that the ban is not at all funded, as the products are bought by millions of people in the US. "Hydroquinone is the gold standard of treatment for pigmentation problems. Millions of Americans use it without ill effect," pointed out Dr. Susan C. Taylor, a Philadelphia Dermatologist and the Founding Director of the Skin of Color Center at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital in New York.

US dermatologists also pinpoint the fact that American women do not use skin-lightening creams extensively for having a lighter complexion. They mostly use the hydroquinone products to get rid of blemishes and age spots.

"I feel that hydroquinones are safe and effective treatment for pigmentary disorders. I feel comfortable recommending that my patients continue to use hydroquinones if they have a pigmentary disorder," went on Dr. Taylor in a statement for WebMD.

"I think the evidence is quite weak with the link between hydroquinones and cancer. Data on rats and mice cannot necessarily be extrapolated to human data." Also, in Africa "people have used hyrdoquinones for long periods of time ... meaning years, 10, 20, 30, years ... and at high concentrations. We've not seen a proliferation of various types of cancers reported from that population. If you look at the case reports, it's probably less than 200. So it's really not a significant problem here in the United States," the Philadelphia dermatologist concluded.