Actress Yewande Adekoya has expressed disappointment on Nollywood actors battling with cancer.
She raised the alarm that Ogogo’s suddenly death to cancer is still a shock.
And spreading of cancer is as a result of unhealthy food Nigerians consume everyday.
Yewande spoke online after raising concerns about the possible health risks associated with the way drinking water and beverages are stored in Nigeria
The actress made this known in a video shared on her official Instagram page, days after the death of her senior colleague, veteran actor Taiwo Hassan, popularly known as Ogogo.
Yewande noted that Nigerians have been receiving advice from health experts on various ways to maintain healthy lifestyles, including being mindful of the food they consume, the cookware they use and how they operate household appliances. However, she argued that the issue of drinking water, particularly the way it is stored before consumption, has not received enough attention.
She pointed out that many Nigerians depend on plastic bottled water and sachet water because they are more affordable and accessible. The actress therefore appealed to retailers to avoid displaying bottled drinks, bottled water and sachet water under direct sunlight simply to attract customers.
According to her, prolonged exposure of plastic packaging to high temperatures could cause chemical components in the materials to break down and potentially contaminate the water or beverages. She stressed that consumers may not know whether products have previously been exposed to excessive heat, particularly when the items are later chilled in freezers.
Yewande urged water and beverage retailers, as well as manufacturers, to take greater precautions by keeping their products away from excessive heat. She also called on Nigerians to be more conscious of the conditions under which the drinking water they purchase is stored, while noting that her comments were intended to raise awareness rather than discourage people from consuming water.
She said; “If you know that you live in Nigeria, this video is for you. Please share it as much as possible to many people. Everyone must see this video.
“A lot of experts have taken their time to make videos to educate us about this cancer that is on the rise in our country. They have told us about the safe ways to use our microwave, the kind of pots we need to start using, the kind of foods that we need to stop eating, and so many things that will help us to be around for a very long time.
But there is something that we are not talking about enough in this country because no matter how much we take precautions by ourselves, no matter how much we protect our health, if we do not pay attention to this particular thing I want to talk about, all our efforts to stay healthy will be in vain. All our efforts to stay healthy will not produce results.
“I am talking about the kind of drinking water that is available to us in this country, the kind of water that has been sold to us, the kind of water we drink every day. Not everyone can afford water that is sold in glass bottles. The majority of Nigerians buy water that is in plastic bottles or sachets because that is what they can afford.
“If you know that you sell drinks, if you know that you sell water for people to drink, please, this video is also for you. Please come closer. Don’t keep the drinks and water that you are selling in front of your shop under the sun just because you want to advertise.
“You want people to know that you sell water, so you put bottled water, bottled drinks and pure water outside because you want to advertise, but unknown to you, you are killing people.
“Water is life, we all know that, but are you selling death to people? Are you sending people to their graves? Are you the reason why a lot of people are in the hospital suffering from cancer? Do you know what usually happens to the drinks and water that you always put in front of your shop under the sun?
Research has told us that when you expose these plastic bottles or pure water bags to high temperature or direct sunlight, the chemical compounds holding the plastic or the pure water sachet start to break down. You won’t see it physically with your eyes, but the chemical bonds holding the plastic and sachet together start to break down.
“As it starts to break down, it allows cancer-causing compounds to enter into the water and into the drinks. Cancer-causing compounds.
“The people that you are selling to will not know what has happened to the drink or the pure water because you take them afterwards and put them in your freezer. They become cold.
They buy cold drinks from you, not knowing that the drink has previously been exposed to high temperature, and we buy this water every day.
“Whether you are a drink retailer or manufacturer, help us keep our water away from high temperature. Help us take precautions because no matter how much we are conscious of our health, no matter how much we take care of ourselves, if we constantly buy water like this from retailers, the result will remain the same as if we are not taking care of ourselves.”
