As the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control bans alcoholic beverages in sachets, PET, and glass bottles of 200ml and below, JOHNSON IDOWU writes on the mixed reactions that have followed this policy
In January 2022, NAFDAC said it halted the registration of alcoholic beverages in sachets and small-volume PET and glass bottles below 200ml.
According to the agency, the decision was based on the recommendation of a high-powered committee comprising representatives from the Federal Ministry of Health, NAFDAC, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, and industry stakeholders, including the Association of Food, Beverages, and Tobacco Employers and the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria.
The committee aimed to address health risks associated with these products and promote responsible consumption.
On February 1, 2024, the agency commenced the implementation of the ban by shutting some factories where these sachet drinks were manufactured.
The move follows an end to the five-year ultimatum issued by NAFDAC for the sachets and small-volume PET and glass bottles below 200ml to phase out of circulation.
NAFDAC fears health hazards
NAFDAC’s Director-General, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, says the ban is aimed at controlling unrestricted underage access to alcoholic drinks which she said posed health risks to the children.
NAFDAC noted that the ban, which targets the most accessible and affordable forms of alcoholic beverages, is expected to have far-reaching effects on the consumption patterns of alcohol in the country.
She said “It is a response to the growing concerns about the health risks associated with excessive alcohol consumption, particularly among the youth who are the primary consumers of these sachet and small bottle alcoholic beverages.
“Children who drink alcohol are more likely to use drugs, get bad grades, suffer injury or death, engage in risky sexual activity, make bad decisions, and have health problems.”
The agency noted that Nigeria was one of the 193 member states of the World Health Organisation that reached a historical consensus on a global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol by adopting resolution WHA63.13 at the sixty-third session of the World Health Assembly, held in Geneva in 2010.
Adeyeye warned that the people mostly at risk of the negative effects of consumption of the banned pack sizes of alcoholic beverages are the under-aged, commercial vehicle drivers and riders.
“The alcoholic content in sachet or PET bottles less than 200ml is 30 per cent. Beer has four to eight per cent alcohol,” she added.
The NAFDAC boss emphasised that no registered alcoholic beverages were falling within the banned categories as of January 31, 2024. Adeyeye also stated that manufacturers were given a window period to sell off existing stock, but some continued production even after the deadline which she described as “flagrant disobedience to Nigerian laws and will explore all statutory means, including prosecution, to address the matter.”
She said, “It is also important to clarify that the implementation of the ban on alcohol in sachets and small-volume PET and glass bottles was not hasty.
“It is in line with the five-year phase-out plan of the affected presentations of alcoholic beverages, which started in January 2019 and ended on January 31, 2024.
“The five-year period granted to the industry stakeholders was a practical, reasonable, and sufficient time for full compliance with the phase-out of the production of alcoholic beverages in sachets and small-volume PET and glass bottles below 200ml.”
MAN, DBAN, traditional ruler, others kick
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria however countered claims by the NAFDAC that the recent implementation of the ban on sachet alcoholic drinks was a collective decision.
Speaking at a press conference held in Lagos on February 9, the Director-General of MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, insisted that members of the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria, a sub-sector under MAN, had repeatedly expressed reservations over the planned implementation of the ban. He dismissed the claim by the regulator that the decision was a collective one.
According to the MAN DG, the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria participated in the preparation of a memorandum of understanding, which was then signed (with evident reservations) on December 18, 2018, between the Federal Ministry of Health, NAFDAC, Consumer Protection Commission (now Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission) and Association of Food, Beverages, and Tobacco Employers and DIBAN to address the concerns raised at the time.
The goal, he said, was to enlighten citizens on responsible consumption, by supporting the Federal Ministry of Health and NAFDAC to undertake the advocacy, messaging, training and education of the public.
He said, “This is what the ban is going to wreck for no justifiable reason. It must be explicitly stated that moderation and responsible drinking promote good health. Small is good, if you buy small, you will consume a small.
“To go ahead with the policy based on perceived danger, without empirical information and not minding the consequences, unfair to the industry operators and the thousands of workers that will lose their jobs and inimical to the Nigerian economy.”
Also, the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria urged NAFDAC to reverse the ban placed on the production of alcohol in sachets and pet bottles below 200 millimetres.
The Executive Secretary of DBAN, John Ichue in an interview with The PUNCH said that the ban would not address the problem but would rather create room for the illicit circulation of alcoholic drinks.
He added “In 2018, we signed an MOU under duress and the MOU gave us the authorisation to do a campaign on responsible drinking and discourage underage alcohol consumption. For DBAN members, our investment is over 12 trillion by indigenous manufacturers and this ban will lead over 75 per cent of home-grown manufacturers to shut down.
“Meanwhile, the sachet alcohol is our cash cow as when we were producing bottled alcohol, we were finding it hard to adjust to the economic situation, so most of our members decided to scale down to sachet and we have invested trillions of naira in that direction. To us, it will be a disservice to Nigerian investors because this ban is clearly motivated by multinationals in our segment of business.”
Similarly, the Food Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association and the National Union of Food Beverages and Tobacco Employees, said, “This singular action (the ban) has sent over 500,000 breadwinners out of jobs and into the oversaturated Nigerian labour market.”
The associations lamented that the new policy would further pile more problems on the Nigerian economy as it may lead to the eventual shutdown of the industries producing these products.
Also, a traditional ruler in Ogun State In his reaction, the Olota of Ota, Oba Adeyemi Obalanlege, stressed that the ban on the sachet drinks would negatively affect the already depleting foreign exchange of the country. He appealed to the presidency to wade into the matter to prevent job loss.
“I want to call on the DG of NAFDAC, Professor Adeyeye, to rethink and look at the numbers of workers that would be sent into the unemployed world. I am appealing to the presidency to wade into this issue and ensure that none of the workers are laid off.”
Reacting to the ban, an economic expert, Chizea Boniface, noted that while NAFDAC might have a justifiable reason to implement the ban, the timing had negated the policy. He stressed that the current economic reality of the country and the attending job loss that would precede the ban would further worsen the economy of the country.
He said, “I think that what is wrong with the ban is the suddenness of the ban and for such pronouncement, there are implications. I am sure that NAFDAC has its reason for doing so but what I had expected that should be done should have been enlightenment on the issue. the ban is not the right way to go especially at this time that there is hardship in the land. this government ought to be wary that people are suffering People are suffering badly and the government should stop taking Nigerians for granted because it will get to a stage where people will revolt. we are beginning to see people protesting in different parts of the country. When such decisions are being taken, they should be thought through by considering what would be put in place to address them. this ban implies that it will bring hardship upon the people who will lose their jobs.’’
