Participants at the First National Conference on Alcohol Harm Prevention and 5th Annual General Meeting, organised on Friday by the Association of Advocates Against Alcohol Harm in Nigeria (ASAAHN) have called on Nigeria must urgently adopt a national alcohol policy to safeguard its youth, protect public health, and reduce the growing social and economic damage caused by alcohol misuse.
Delivering the keynote address in Lagos on Friday, Professor Samuel Oluranti who is a Professor of Sociology from the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, Lagos State, stressed that easy access to alcohol especially among children is threatening Nigeria’s human capital.
“What we have today, where children can buy alcohol anywhere, anyhow, is not helping the future of this nation,” he warned. According to him, a comprehensive alcohol policy will limit harmful exposure, improve public health, and reduce medical spending.
Prof. Oluranti dismissed claims that stricter regulation would cripple the alcohol industry, saying, rather, he argued that diversifying investments would protect jobs while reducing longterm harm, adding that “When you compare tax revenue to the cost of damaged lives and communities, life is more important than profit.”
He also called for coordinated enforcement, noting that agencies like the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) must work more closely with others to curb illegal sales and underage access.
