By ADEROGBA GEORGE

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) announced in Abuja on Tuesday that enforcement of the total ban on sachet and small PET bottle alcohol will begin January 2026.

NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said this at a press conference, reaffirming the agency’s unflinching commitment to protecting public health and emphasising that its responsibility to safeguard the nation’s wellbeing remained sacrosanct.

Adeyeye said the enforcement would ensure full compliance with the total ban on production and sale of alcoholic beverages in sachets and PET bottles below 200ml by December 2025.

She explained that the move aligned with the recent Senate directive and was fully supported by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to protect Nigerians from harmful alcohol consumption.

According to Adeyeye, the measure underscores NAFDAC’s statutory duty to safeguard public health and shield vulnerable groups, especially children and young adults, from the harmful consequences of excessive alcohol consumption.

She warned that proliferation of high-alcohol-content beverages in sachets and small containers made them affordable and concealable, contributing to addiction, misuse, and reckless behaviour among minors and commercial drivers.

Adeyeye added that the menace had been linked to increased domestic violence, road crashes, school dropouts, and several social vices, which had continued to destabilise families and communities nationwide.

“In December 2018, NAFDAC, the Federal Ministry of Health, and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers (AFBTE) and the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN).

“The agreement initially set Jan. 31, 2024, as the deadline but was later extended to December 2025 to allow manufacturers reconfigure facilities and exhaust existing stock, Adeyeye explained.

She said the new Senate resolution aligned with that agreement and Nigeria’s commitment to the World Health Organisation’s Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol, adopted in 2010.

“This ban is not punitive but protective. It aims to secure the health and future of our children and youth, based on scientific evidence and global public health standards.”

She stressed that NAFDAC could not continue to compromise Nigerians’ wellbeing for short-term economic gains, emphasising that a nation’s true wealth lied in the health of its people.

Adeyeye clarified that only spirit drinks packaged in sachets and small PET or glass bottles below 200ml were affected by the regulation to be enforced by January 2026.

She urged all stakeholders, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers, to comply fully with the December 2025 phase-out deadline, warning that no further extension would be granted by the agency.

She said NAFDAC would collaborate with the Ministry of Health, FCCPC, and National Orientation Agency to intensify national sensitisation campaigns on the social and health risks linked to alcohol misuse.

Adeyeye reaffirmed that NAFDAC remained resolute in ensuring that only safe, wholesome, and properly regulated products were available to Nigerians in line with its mandate to protect public health. (NAN)