Senate directs NAFDAC to impose a ban on sachet alcohol starting in December 2025

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The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and other pertinent regulatory agencies have

been directed by the Senate to vigorously enforce the prohibition on the packaging of high-strength alcoholic beverages in sachet formats starting in December 2025.

The National Assembly's red chamber also decided that the present moratorium should not be extended.

This came after Senator Asuquo Ekpeyong's motion to stop the phase-out of alcoholic beverages packed in satchet formats was approved.

In his lead discussion during plenary, Ekpeyong reminded the Senate that NAFDAC had announced a gradual ban on the importation, production, and distribution of alcohol packed in sachets after consulting with industry stakeholders and using worldwide best practices.

He clarified that a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was voluntarily signed in 2018 by a number of stakeholders, including the Federal Ministry of Health, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), NAFDAC, and industry associations like the Association of Food, Beverage & Tobacco Employers (AFBTE) and the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN).

Citing growing health and social concerns about these items' cost, portability, and accessibility, especially among youngsters, teenagers, commercial drivers, and other vulnerable groups, the MoU pledged to gradually phase them out.

The senators remembered that, in spite of the original deadline, the Federal Government extended the phase-out to December 2025 by granting manufacturers a one-year moratorium in 2024 to allow them to run out of stock and switch to compatible packaging options.

But as the deadline draws near, some producers are still pushing for an extension, which, according to Ekpeyong, weakens regulatory authority, jeopardizes public health, and distorts fair competition in the sector.