DOH Renews Warning Against Injectable Glutathione for Skin Lightening, Citing No Approved Use

On Saturday, February 24, 2024, the Philippines' Department of Health put out a statement repeating a warning it has made before: it does not support the use of glutathione to whiten or lighten skin. The statement drew a line between what the drug is approved for and what it is often used for.

The department said no published clinical trials have evaluated injectable glutathione as a skin-lightening treatment. There are also no guidelines on how much should be given or for how long. In other words, the health department says there is no evidence base for the practice, and no accepted protocol for anyone who offers it.

The one approved use for injectable glutathione is a narrow one. The Food and Drug Administration Philippines has cleared it as an adjunct treatment in cisplatin chemotherapy. The DOH said the FDA has not approved any injectable product for skin lightening.

The statement was also frank about the limits of the department's power. Once a drug has been cleared to enter the Philippine market, the DOH said, it cannot regulate how physicians prescribe it. That authority rests with the doctors' licenses, which are granted by the Professional Regulation Commission. A drug can therefore be legally on the market while a particular use of it has no approval behind it.

For people who believe a physician wrongly prescribed injectable glutathione to them, the DOH pointed to the courts rather than to itself. It advised consulting a practicing lawyer or the Public Attorney's Office for guidance on medical negligence and what might be done in the interest of justice.

The health risk was raised earlier by DOH Secretary Ted Herbosa, who warned that glutathione use carries hazards including kidney damage, which could be fatal.

The renewed warning follows a political controversy. Senator Nancy Binay, who chairs the Senate Ethics Committee, called out TV personality Mariel Rodriguez after Rodriguez posted a photo of herself receiving a glutathione drip in the office of her husband, Senator Robin Padilla. Binay said she was unsure whether the Ethics Committee's jurisdiction could reach the incident, since Rodriguez is not a member of the Senate. She argued it still deserved a close look because it touches on conduct, integrity and the reputation of the institution, as well as health and safety.

Binay said it was troubling that the intravenous procedure was done on Senate premises without any notice from the Senate clinic. She described the drip as something the DOH had already declared unsafe and the FDA had banned, administered outside the clinic without the advice of a licensed health professional. She added that public figures carry a responsibility, and that they risk promoting something prohibited and illegal while viewers assume it is fine. Being an artist, she said, carries accountability, especially when one's spouse is a senator.

What to watch next: the DOH has made clear that regulation of individual prescribing sits with the PRC and the courts, so any consequences for practitioners or patients are likely to come through those channels, and whether the Senate Ethics Committee acts remains unsettled.