Ban on alcohol in sachets, PET bottles stays — NAFDAC

…says it’s to protect children

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) is insisting on its ban of alcoholic drinks in sachets and polyethene terephthalate (PET) bottles less than 200ml, saying it is the protect children.

The agency said alcohol content in sachets and PET bottles was 30 percent compared to beer which is four to eight percent. It said it did not ban alcohol production in bigger bottles but in containers or packing that a child can easily conceal.

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In a statement on Tuesday signed by Sayo Akintola, NAFDAC resident media consultant, the agency restated that the ban was a decision involving all stakeholders.

“The Association of Food, Beverage & Tobacco Employers (AFBTE) and Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN) signed an agreement with MOH and NAFDAC and FCCPC in 2018 December that they will phase out production of alcohol in sachet and PET bottles less than 200 ml by January 31, 2024.

“The agreement document is available. A five-year phase out notice should be sufficient”, the statement read.

The agency added that Nigeria was one of the 193 member states of the World Health Organisation that reached a historical consensus on a global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol by adopting resolution WHA63.13 at the 63rd session of the World Health Assembly, Geneva, in 2010.

Read also: NAFDAC bans production of sachet alcohol, small bottles below 200ml

“This was seven years before my time (Mojisola Adeyeye), an agreement signed by Nigeria with other nations that we will protect youth by making alcohol not easily reachable and accessible”, the statement read.