The National Chairman of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN), Pharm. Ambrose Ezeh, has condemned the Federal Government’s recent decision to reverse the ban on the production and retail distribution of alcoholic beverages in sachets and small-volume containers below 200ml.
Ezeh made this position known in a statement personally signed by him and made available to journalists, describing the policy reversal as a troubling setback for public health regulation in Nigeria.
According to him, the directive originally issued by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) was firmly rooted in evidence-based harm-reduction principles and child-protection objectives. Its nullification, he said, raises serious concerns about regulatory consistency and governance priorities.
He recalled that in December 2018, NAFDAC, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), entered into a five-year Memorandum of Understanding with industry operators to phase out sachet and small-volume alcohol packaging by January 31, 2024. This timeline was later extended to December 2025 to allow manufacturers adequate time to exhaust existing stock, adjust supply chains, and reconfigure production infrastructure in compliance with public health standards. The process, he noted, was consultative, gradual, and industry-accommodating.
Ezeh stressed that the public health justification for the policy has never been in doubt. Empirical data link alcohol misuse to approximately 29 percent of preventable deaths in Nigeria and nearly half of all road traffic accidents.
In 2016 alone, more than 60,000 deaths were attributed to alcohol-related causes, including liver disease, alcohol-induced cancers, and fatal crashes, figures that firmly establish alcohol misuse as a national public health emergency requiring decisive regulatory intervention.
He further identified the widespread availability of low-cost, small-volume alcohol products as a major driver of alcohol-related harm. Sachet alcohol, in particular, significantly lowers barriers of access, affordability, and concealment, thereby facilitating underage consumption and high-frequency use among vulnerable populations. Studies and field data indicate that a significant proportion of minors independently procure alcohol, with a clear preference for sachets and sub-200ml bottles because they are cheap, portable, and easily hidden.
Rather than uphold a regulation anchored in harm reduction and child protection, Ezeh observed that certain industry actors have intensified lobbying efforts, reframing the debate around affordability and moderated consumption. While such arguments are often couched in economic logic, he warned that they risk subordinating population health and child welfare to commercial profitability.
The ACPN National Chairman said this posture reflects a disturbing erosion of corporate social responsibility, where vulnerable youths are increasingly viewed as emerging market segments rather than protected citizens under national and international child-protection frameworks.
“The prohibition of sachet alcohol should not be treated as a symbolic regulatory exercise,” Ezeh stated. “It represents a substantive policy statement that Nigeria will not trade the health and future of its children for short-term fiscal or commercial gains.”
He added that public health cost–benefit analyses consistently show that the long-term social and economic burdens of alcohol misuse, including healthcare costs, productivity losses, criminal justice expenditure, and intergenerational harm far outweigh any temporary industry benefits.
At its core, he maintained, the case against sachet alcohol is straightforward: the packaging format inherently enables access and concealment by minors. Any credible policy recalibration must therefore prioritize child protection, regulatory integrity, and evidence-based prevention over transient economic considerations. He cautioned that reliance solely on warning labels and age restrictions, without strong supply-side controls, risks becoming a hollow compliance exercise with minimal behavioral impact.
Ezeh also noted that the regulatory reversal mirrors broader enforcement weaknesses, including the prolonged inability to decisively eliminate open drug markets that facilitate the circulation of counterfeit and substandard medicines. Such inconsistencies, he said, undermine institutional credibility and erode public confidence in regulatory authorities.
“Nigeria now stands at a critical policy crossroads,” he concluded.
“When the choice lies between safeguarding public health and preserving profit margins, the ethical calculus should be unequivocal. Protecting children, strengthening regulatory governance, and upholding evidence-based public policy must remain paramount.”
