The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Professor Mojisola Adeyeye has reaffirmed that the agency will sustain strict enforcement of the nationwide ban on alcoholic drinks packaged in sachets and in small PET bottles below 200ml.
Adeyeye made the disclosure to journalists in her office after some groups staged a protest against the implementation of the ban at the agency’s headquarters in Isolo, Lagos, on Friday.
She cited the World Health Assembly’s 2010 directive urging countries to prevent alcohol access to children, adding that Nigeria was among the 183 countries that signed the agreement.
According to her, the ban was necessary because sachet alcohol is easily accessible to children and young people in busy areas, and poses major health hazards, as well as security threats to the society.
Her words: “If somebody is drunk, they will do what they never knew they were capable of doing. Social disruption occurs. Another probability is the fact that once a young person starts taking alcohol early, the probability of taking drugs is high. For adults that take excess alcohol, the liver may not be able to process it, so the liver cells will start dying slowly”.
The NAFDAC boss revealed that she met with members of two unions who joined the protest earlier and challenged their claim that children do not consume sachet alcohol.
“We will make it public that children take such alcohol. Okada riders take such alcohol. Any driver who is not restricting himself can easily get such alcohol. Many people see this when they board commercial vehicles. It is easy to tear and drink and they keep driving, endangering the lives of passengers”, she said.
Adeyeye explained that children’s bodies are not developed enough to process alcohol and that early exposure can cause long-term damage.
“Children are not small adults. Their physiology is for children,” she said. “When a child consumes alcohol early, their system is exposed to it and there is always damage. The probability of a child that started alcohol early to have all sorts of diseases is high, including cancer,” she said.
Adeyeye added that the concentration of alcohol in sachet products is far higher than in beer.
“It is not the volume you drink, it is the concentration. Some sachet alcohol contains up to 43 per cent alcohol, while beer is about six to eight per cent,” she said.
The DG pointed out that the ban had been under discussion for years and that stakeholders were given a five-year moratorium in 2018 to adjust their business plans. The moratorium was later extended by one year to December 2025.
She said enforcement resumed after the National Assembly’s legislative arms reportedly agreed that the moratorium had ended, adding that it would continue unless a law is passed to stop it.
“The Senate said we should start enforcement and that is what we are doing. If the law says do not, we will not. For now, it is only the law that can stop enforcement,” she said.
