AS anticipated, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control’s decision to reinstate its ban on sachet alcoholic products containing less than 200 millilitres, effective December 31, 2025, has drawn mixed reactions from the public.
On Sunday, a drunk commercial bus driver crashed into an electricity pole in Lagos, injuring four people. Such incidents highlight ongoing concerns about alcohol-related road accidents.
The Federal Road Safety Commission has long identified drunk driving as a major cause of road crashes nationwide and has prohibited alcohol sales at motor parks, though with limited success.
A NAFDAC director, Kenneth Azikiwe, clarified that the current lifting of the ban was temporary, lasting only until December 2025. He stressed that earlier impressions of a permanent lifting were incorrect.
The House of Representatives swiftly countered and advised the agency to lift the ban on producing and selling sachet alcoholic drinks and 200ml PET bottles. It said the ban was ill-timed because of the current economic conditions, staggering unemployment, soaring inflation and high rate of poverty.
While sachet alcohol sales provide some income for certain businesses, it remains debatable whether alcohol consumption can genuinely alleviate poverty, especially in an environment rife with abuse among youth and the urban poor and associated anti-social behaviour.
NAFDAC initially introduced the ban on February 1, 2024, after a five-year moratorium granted to manufacturers to phase out these products.
NAFDAC’s Director-General, Moji Adeyeye, explained that an agreement was reached in December 2018 between NAFDAC, other government agencies, the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria, and the Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers, and that it took five years for the ban to take effect. NAFDAC deemed that period sufficient for transition.
Soon after the ban began, the House Committee on Food and Drug Administration intervened and requested a stay of action. At a subsequent meeting, the Speaker, Tajudeen Abass, again advised NAFDAC to shelve the ban.
In their latest appeal, the House urged sachet alcohol producers to display the dangers of alcohol abuse on product packaging, like warnings on tobacco products.
Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Jamaica, Vietnam, and Cambodia permit the sale of sachet alcoholic products but enforce regulations such as standardised packaging, labelling requirements, and taxes to ensure strict control.
Opponents of the decision argue that banning them while allowing other alcoholic products would defeat the purpose of limiting harmful outcomes and target the low-income earners who mostly patronise these products due to affordability.
They also warn that substitutes are readily available through unregulated vendors selling alcoholic mixtures marketed as aphrodisiacs, laxatives, or anti-malarial remedies.
South Africa and Senegal have banned these products outright. Some countries have permitted the single-use 200ml plastic bottles as alternatives to sachets, but this approach has not been sustainable due to illicit sales and smuggling.
In 2023, the FRSC reported 10,617 road crashes, with speed violations and drunk driving cited as major causes.
Studies suggest that about half of road traffic accidents in Nigeria are linked to alcohol use. The FRSC has consistently identified alcohol as a leading cause of accidents, alongside speeding and overloading.
A recent study on sachet alcohol consumption in sub-Saharan Africa suggests that alcohol intake among adolescents is associated with lower academic achievement, school drop-out, risky sexual behaviour, poor health outcomes and a high likelihood of alcohol dependency in adulthood.
“Alcohol in sachet form forms the bulk of the illicit alcohol, which is unregistered, contributing to high consumption and local revenue,” the study concluded.
Nigerian authorities must take decisive action to regulate these alcoholic products, following extensive consultations with stakeholders to achieve the objectives behind the ban.
