The National Food and Drug Administration (NAFDAC) has banned the production of alcoholic beverages in bags below 200 ml. The Director General of NAFDAC, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, who disclosed the news to journalists, said that manufacturers have been given five years from 2028 to stop the production of plastic bags and pet bottles for drinking water and that this period ended on January 31, 2024.It will start from February 1, 2024.
Accordingly, the agency decided to ban the production of this soft drink due to its disadvantages for young children. He said that because this drink is simple in size and inexpensive, it is easy for children to fall in love with its packaging and realize its hazards later.
“This decision is based on the board of directors of the Federal Ministry of Health and NAFDAC on the one hand and the Federal Health Prevention and Control Commission (FCCPC) and (AFBTE), Brewers and Bartenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN) on the other, December 2018. As a commitment to the decision reached at the end of this Committee meeting, producers of alcohol in sachets and small volume agreed to reduce the production by 5 percent with effect from 31st January 2022 while ensuring the product is completely phased out in the country by 31st January 2024".
At the end of the committee meeting, According to the decision, producers of alcohol and its products will reduce production until January 31, 2022. Adeyeye stated the future is more important than other issues in the implementation of the law and noted that it is important to save children in Nigeria and prevent public health from being hindered: children, teenagers and passengers who drink a lot of these satchets. The World Health Organization warns that children who drink too much alcoholo are more likely to use drugs, get sick, get injured or die, risk sex, make poor decisions and have health problems. The World Health Organization also states that alcohol consumption is associated with more than 200 health conditions, including infectious diseases (tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS) and unrelated diseases (cirrhosis of the liver and various cancers). It is also linked to social problems such as alcoholism and gender-based violence. The World Health Organization recommends to policy makers a number of actions and strategies that have proven effective and beneficial to prevent alcohol addiction; These include: Controlling alcohol trade (especially for young people) and Controlling alcohol consumption through trade and prohibition.
He said that during the implementation of this ban, it was decided that some companies were still producing banned products and preserving their finished product and packaging groups. The Census Bureau said this violated Nigerian law. "We will take this matter seriously and use all legal means, including litigation, to resolve the matter".
NAFDAC warned that the decision will not change.
"I want to use this medium to ask all holders of alcohol in sachets, PET and Glass bottles, empty sachets, PET bottles, empty Glass bottles, and other packaging materials of these banned products to immediately report to the Investigation and Enforcement Directorate of NAFDAC for hand-over of same to NAFDAC for destruction, to prevent sterner measures including prosecution.
NAFDAC is resolutely committed to the strict implementation of the regulations and regulatory measures towards safeguarding the health of Nigerians, particularly the vulnerable youth, against the dangers of reckless consumption of alcohol".
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