Senate sets December deadline to ban sachet alcohol

The Senate, on Thursday, issued a firm directive to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control not to extend the December 31, 2025 deadline for the prohibition of the production and sale of alcoholic beverages in sachets and small-volume PET bottles.

 The resolution followed a motion of urgent national importance moved by Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong (Cross River South) during plenary on Tuesday.

Presenting the motion, Ekpenyong said the enforcement timeline was in line with global regulatory standards and international best practices aimed at reducing alcohol-related harm among Nigerians.

He recalled that in 2018, the Federal Ministry of Health, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, NAFDAC and industry groups, including the Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers, jointly signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding to gradually phase out sachet and mini-bottle alcoholic drinks to curb the growing abuse of cheap, high-strength alcohol among young people.

Ekpenyong said the Federal Government had already granted manufacturers a one-year moratorium in 2024 to enable them to exhaust existing stock and transition to compliant packaging but warned that some producers were now lobbying for another extension.

“As the December 2025 deadline approaches, certain manufacturers are lobbying for another extension, thereby undermining the regulatory process and jeopardising public health,” he said.

“We cannot continue to expose our youths to cheap, easily accessible alcohol that destroys lives and endangers public safety,” he said.

The lawmaker argued that the continued sale of high-content alcoholic beverages in sachet form was fuelling addiction, impaired cognitive development, school dropouts, domestic violence and a rise in road accidents, especially among commercial drivers and teenagers.

He also warned that companies that had complied in good faith were now being placed at a competitive disadvantage by those still producing banned formats.

During debate, lawmakers who contributed commended Ekpenyong and stressed the need for stronger enforcement and sustained public sensitisation campaigns.

Senator Anthony Ani (Ebonyi South) backed the motion, describing the situation as a worsening public health threat.

“The easy availability of cheap alcohol is fueling social vices. We must act now to save our young generation from self-destruction,” he said.

Speaking, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, said the resolution was a necessary step to protect the nation’s youth and public safety, warning that NAFDAC must fully implement the ban.

“This is a matter of urgency,” Akpabio said. “The agency must act decisively to protect Nigerians, especially our young people, from the dangers of unregulated alcohol consumption.”

NAFDAC began enforcing the phase-out of sachet and small-bottle alcoholic drinks in January 2024, sealing several factories and confiscating products found in violation of the directive.

The agency, led by its Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has repeatedly maintained that such products are deliberately targeted at young consumers due to their affordability and concealability.

Despite resistance from segments of the manufacturing industry, NAFDAC has insisted that the policy will remain, emphasising its link to reducing substance abuse, underage drinking, and addiction among youths across the country.