Alcohol ban in small pack sizes to reduce underage drinking – NAFDAC

Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, the Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), says the ban on alcohol in small pack sizes remains the best solution to tackle the menace of underage drinking.

Adeyeye said this at a news conference in Abuja on Tuesday to mark the commencement of enforcement of the ban on sachet alcoholic drinks nationwide.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the enforcement would be carried out by the NAFDAC, the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).

The NAFDAC boss said restricting access to sachets and small-volume bottles, which could be easily concealed, would limit children’s access to alcohol.

According to her, alcohol is one of the most widely used substances of abuse among youths.

Adeyeye said several studies showed a rapid increase in alcohol availability, production, importation and consumption across age groups in recent decades.

She added that the availability and easy access to alcohol had been identified as a contributory factor to the increasing alcohol consumption among minors.

Adeyeye recalled that in 2018, the Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers (AFBTE) and the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DBAN), which are part of the NAFDAC council, reported NAFDAC management to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.

“In 2018, AFBTE and DBAN took NAFDAC to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to say that we were trying to reduce the concentration of alcohol in sachets. By that time, it was like 50 per cent in the sachet.

“DBAN and AFBTE said that their businesses would be destroyed. That was 2018. The then Prof. Pate, the Minister of Health, gave these trade groups five years to reorganise their business.

On Feb. 1, 2024, five years after, we started enforcement because our mandate is to regulate and control the manufacture, importation, exportation, distribution, advertisement, sale and use. Of seven regulated products, alcohol is part of food.

They resisted us, and they took us to the Committee on NAFDAC at the National Assembly, who told us to suspend what we were doing in 2024. It went back and forth throughout 2024. We couldn’t do what we were supposed to do.

“In December 2024, the then minister, Prof. Pate, said we should give an extra year, and we gave it,” she said.

The NAFDAC director-general said after the agency started enforcement following the order by the Senate, the trade groups also sought another extension.

“However, in 2018, when this moratorium was given, we were also told to do a survey to even see the impact on our children. We did our survey in NAFDAC.

The results were not pleasing to the disciplinary group. They said they want an independent survey. So, we had an independent survey. It was conducted in 2021 during the pandemic,” she said.

Adeyeye said the overall objective of the research was to undertake a national survey of consumers and retailers of alcohol, beverages and wines to determine the extent of alcohol abuse among the underage.

She said about 2,000 respondents were sampled across the six geopolitical zones, adding that the result was damning to the country.

Adeyeye said findings showed that 54.3 per cent of minors and underage people obtained alcohol by themselves from various sources, while 49.9 per cent patronised retailers selling sachets and pet bottles.

The NAFDAC boss, who said 50 per cent of children drink alcohol, said findings further suggest that minors and underage people also access alcoholic drinks from friends and relatives, as well as from social guardians.

Of those who procure drinks for themselves, 47.2 per cent of minors and 48.8 per cent of underage people procure drinks in sachets because they are easy to conceal.

“Whether you are a good parent or a bad parent, it doesn’t really matter. These sachets are easy to conceal, and that is what NAFDAC has banned.

‘The survey data revealed that 63.2 per cent of minors and 54 per cent of underage people drink alcohol occasionally, while 44.3 per cent and 38.3 per cent of adults drink alcohol occasionally and daily, respectively.

“So, they even drink it more than adults because it is easy to conceal. Additionally, 9.3 per cent of minors and 25.2 per cent of underage children consume alcoholic beverages.

“And 11.3 per cent of minors and 9.4 per cent of underage consume alcohol at least once a week. As young as nine years old in this survey consume alcohol,” she said.

According to her, most minors underage buy alcohol for themselves. It’s about N50 to buy a sachet of alcohol. Some people have been made rich, but some children are losing their livelihoods and future.

“Some children are potential patients for liver cirrhosis, kidney failure, and mental instability.

On the pattern of alcohol consumption and abuse by minors and underage children, the survey findings revealed that about 11.7 per cent of underage children have ever engaged in binge drinking.

“This is mostly reported in Gombe. In terms of the most use of alcohol, it is Lagos State and Rivers.”

Adeyeye said NAFDAC expressed concern following its mandate aimed at ensuring protection of public health, including children.

Speaking on its impact on health and brain development, she said alcohol could damage the hippocampus, memory centre in the brain, and prefrontal cortex, leading to permanent issues with learning, memory and impulse control.

According to her, underage drinking is linked to liver and kidney damage. Hypertension, disrupted hormone growth and increased cancer risk later in life.

This, she said, also increases the risk of depression, anxiety and low self-esteem.

“Youth who begin drinking before age 15, the minors and underage in our study, are 41 per cent more likely to become dependent on alcohol. And this study also shows that they graduate to start taking cocaine and other narcotics.

“It also has behavioural consequences, as violence remains a major factor in youth suicides, homicides and motor vehicle crashes or accidents.

Risky behaviour is strongly linked to unprotected sexual activity, unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases,” she said.

According to her, it also contributes to academic problems because drinking often leads to lower grades, missed classes and impaired cognitive function.

“In our country, it is responsible for banditry. It is responsible for kidnapping. You cannot be in your right mind and point a gun at somebody. It starts from alcohol and then goes on to hard drugs.

“Because of all these, the Senate made its resolutions on Nov. 6, 2025, and they were communicated to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) on December 1, 2025.

“The resolutions urge NAFDAC not to grant further extension to the moratorium and to ensure immediate strict enforcement of the ban on such alcohol and alcohol in small bottles.

It urges the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to support NAFDAC on the ban on such alcohol and alcohol in smaller volumes.

“It urges the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to release its national alcohol policy that includes prohibition of alcohol in sachets and small volumes less than 200 ml.

“It urges the National Orientation Agency and NAFDAC to collaborate and intensify nationwide sensitisation of the dangers of alcohol in sachets and small-volume bottles,” she said.

Earlier, the Director of Corporate Affairs, FCCPC, Mr Ondaje Ijagwu, said the commission would subject offenders in the food and drug sector to the offences and penalties based on the extant laws.

“So, by tomorrow, when we begin full enforcement, which we must, we will not be asked questions as to why we are subjecting offenders to a certain kind of penalty and sanction. Our sanctions are quite severe.

By the time we begin implementation, and which we are commencing immediately, Nigerians will know,” Ijagwu said.

The Director-General of NOA, Malam Lanre Onilu, said the Federal Government, through NAFDAC, had banned the production and sale of alcohol in sachets and in PET or glass bottles below 200 millilitres, effective from Jan. 1, 2026.

According to Onilu, this decision is a deliberate public health intervention aimed at reducing underage access to cheap, high-concentration alcohol and curbing the alarming pattern of harmful consumption across our communities.

“This is why this collaboration is important. NAFDAC safeguards public health through regulation. FCCPC protects consumer rights and ensures responsible market practices.

“The National Orientation Agency mobilises citizens for behavioural change and national consciousness. Together, we are aligning regulation, consumer protection and public enlightenment to ensure that this policy achieves its intended impact,” he said. (NAN)