Sachet alcohol ban stands until law changes – NAFDAC insists

By Chioma Obinna

The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, Professor Christianah Adeyeye, yesterday reaffirmed the agency’s firm stance on the ban of alcohol in sachets and small bottles, stressing that there will be “no going back unless a legislative or legal directive allows otherwise.”

Adeyeye spoke during an impromptu press briefing following a protest by alcohol manufacturers at NAFDAC’s Isolo office, Lagos.

The protesters who arrived in white buses, carrying placards urging the agency to reconsider its position. They also argued that the ban could lead to job losses and economic hardship.

Adeyeye who earlier addressed leaders of the protesters told journalists that the move to enforce the ban was not a punishment but a necessary public health intervention.

“Children are not small adults. Their physiological systems cannot handle alcohol, and early exposure significantly increases the risk of disease, addiction, and social harm. This is why we cannot compromise on enforcement,” she said.

She explained that adults may choose to drink responsibly, but the small, highly concentrated sachets of alcohol are easily accessible to children and young people, and have become a major driver of alcohol-related health and social problems, including road accidents, addiction, and crime.

The NAFDAC DG recalled that the ban is in line with global health standards and Nigeria’s commitment under SDG 3.5, which seeks to reduce the harmful use of alcohol. She emphasized that the agency had given manufacturers five years, plus an additional one-year moratorium, to adjust their production and business plans, and that the enforcement now is the culmination of that process.

“We are not banning alcohol,” she stressed. Producers still have their licenses to manufacture larger volumes. What we are stopping is the production of small, highly concentrated sachets that put children and the public at risk.”

She also addressed concerns about enforcement in markets and workplaces.

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