Reps Suspend Ban On Sale Of Spirits, Alcoholic Drinks In Satchets

The House of Representatives Committee on National Agency on Food, Drugs Administration, and Control ,NAFDAC, has ordered the suspension of the ban imposed on the sale of spirits and alcoholic drinks in sachets and pet bottles.

Chairman, House Committee on NAFDAC, Regina Akume stated this in Abuja after a public hearing on the NAFDAC ban on the product said the suspension is pending the outcome of its investigation on the matter.

According to her, the proper step is to put access control procedures in place to prevent children and youths from consuming the alcoholic contents of the sachet and pet bottles.

She said the committee was entrusted with the essential responsibility and effectiveness of NAFDAC for the creation of employment and enhancing economic growth.

The Chairman promised to reach a level playing ground between NAFDAC and manufacturers that would not be detrimental to children or public safety.

Earlier, Director General, NAFDAC, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, said the ban was imposed to protect the health and welfare of children, youths, and other vulnerable groups.

“We tried to protect the market, and that was why we agreed to a five-year moratorium for the manufacturers to phase out sachet alcohol and alcohol in pet bottles in December 2018.

According to her, it was a ministerial directive and not unilaterally made by NAFDAC, and the expiration of that five-year period has come.

She said that, in spite of the agreement on the ban on sachet alcohol and pet bottles, it was shocking to NAFDAC that the campaign from manufacturers was mounting.

She noted that as a result of the use of sachet alcohol, insecurity is being breached, adding that “30 percent of our children now take alcohol casually.”

She however, said that the market that was going to be lost, as expressed by the manufacturers, would be about 30 percent because such could be easily concealed in the pocket.

Director General, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria,
Mr Segun Ajayi kadilimni
however, said that there was no major basic disagreement with NAFDAC as they were committed to protecting youths and children from accessing alcohol.

According to him, “the ban will be counterproductive and this will open the market to producers of illicit drugs, and these are people you cannot control”.

“I believe if we work together, we will be able to eradicate underage access. These sachets are not produced for children but for adults, and they have been warned not to consume them”.

Oduyemi Odumade, Edited By Grace Namiji