NAFDAC BAN: Reps. Ordered lift of ban on the production and sale of sachet alcoholic drinks and 200-ml pet bottles

The House of Representatives has urged the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to lift the ban on the production and sale of sachet alcoholic drinks and 200-ml pet bottles.

Reps said  enlightenment campaign should be carried out in secondary schools across the country, as practiced by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), to educate students on the dangers and vices associated with the abuse of alcohol.

Recall that on February 5, 2024, NAFDAC announced a ban on alcoholic beverages sold in sachets or bottles less than 200ml.

In their intervention, the House Committee on NAFDAC ordered the suspension of the ban pending the outcome of its investigation into the matter.

However, the House, on Thursday asked NAFDAC to immediately reverse the ban after considering the report of the Committee on NAFDAC which had investigated the ban.

The report stated that the ban should be lifted immediately because the timing was inappropriate given the fact that the economy was struggling with staggering unemployment and soaring inflation, while the poverty level is on the increase with the paucity of forex to do business.

According to the report, the ban on sachet alcohol should be replaced with the establishment of licenced liquor stores/outlets in Local Government Areas across the country, making it unlawful to send underage persons to purchase alcoholic beverages.

The report also said the process of enforcement should be tightened, with increased monitoring and compliance checks by NAFDAC, FCCPC, and others to ensure strict product quality in terms of content and safety.

It further said that producers of sachet alcohol should expose the dangers associated with the abuse of alcohol sachet products by boldly inscribing and enumerating the dangers on the packs, as in the case of tobacco.

According to the resolutions, government regulatory bodies should place more emphasis on regulation, monitoring, and enlightenment campaigns to educate stakeholders and the general public on the dangers of underage consumption of alcohol and its sales in motor parks.

It said an enlightenment campaign should be carried out in secondary schools across the country, as practiced by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), to educate students on the dangers and vices associated with the abuse of alcohol.

The report also said parents, religious bodies, and Non -Governmental Organisation (NGOs) should be tasked with counselling their children or wards, especially the underage, on the dangers of alcohol consumption.

Briefing journalists afterwards, the House Deputy spokesperson, Hon. Philip Agbese said the ban is one government policy that was targeted at the poor.

When pressed on the health implications of consuming alcoholic drinks, Hon. Agbese noted that health implications was not the reason why NAFDAC placed the ban.

“The issue of health implications, as a matter of fact, we are all Nigerians, if you pick a packet of cigarette you’ll see on it that cigarette smoking is dangerous to your health, yet people still buy cigarette to smoke.

“You see, it’s within people’s fundamental human right to decide what they consume especially for adult who can make their own decision.

“What is the health implications for consuming sachet drink when people consume the same content in bottles, I think to be very mild, it’s highly hypocritical.

“One of the presentations we received at the course of the hearing, a certain segment of the country with lower incomes raised the issue of fundamental human rights, harassment and discrimination. I believe if it’s within people’s choice to go to super market and buy loaf of bread with butter, we should in the same manner allow people to be able to afford their “Agege bread”.

Now talking about children consuming the sachet drinks, the lawmaker said, “Now if you look at it, Benylin Codeine and other cough serubs are being consumed by the children of the rich. They are still sold in pharmacies and stores, nobody has placed a ban on them.

“We are here as representative of the people to protect the interest of the masses. And I think as a matter of fact, it was one policy of government that was targeted at the poor.

“In Nigeria here, if you’re bereaved you look for this product; if you’re excited you still look for this product. So whatever way you look at it, it’s a product that many of us cannot actually do without. It plays a very critical role – religiously, economically and socially in our day to day lives as citizens”, he said.