Companies making alcohol in sachets and in bottles below 200ml may soon fold up as the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control, NAFDAC, has banned the registration of sachet alcohol in the country.
NAFDAC, says it will no longer register any alcoholic drinks in sachets and any glass bottle below 200ml as part of effort to curb the high consumption of alcohol by particularly youths in the country.
The agency also said that it will implement stringent regulations against alcohol abuse, in a statement by NAFDAC, Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye.
“Even as we grapple with the containment of COVID-19 pandemic, NAFDAC is resolutely committed to the strict implementation of the regulations and regulatory measures towards safeguarding the Health of Nigerians particularly the vulnerable youths against the dangers of reckless consumption of Alcohol, Prof. Adeyeye said.
The statement also added that those alcoholic drinks already registered before the said decision by NAFDAC will be allow to do an upgrade to the new standard free of charge.
“manufacturers of low volume alcohol beverages (200ml) with satisfactory laboratory reports, which were already submitted to NAFDAC for registration before this decision, have been directed to reformulate their products to stipulated standards free of charge,”the statement said.
An article published by BMC public health in 2019 revealed that “Nigeria ranks 27th globally in respect of adults alcohol drinking (age 15+) in liters per year, making it one of the leading African countries in alcohol consumption.
It added that over three million Nigerians die of alcohol complications yearly.
The result of the report also states “comprehensive policies to control the production, advertisement, marketing, and availability of alcohol in Nigeria in line with WHO recommendations are not available.