The Senate has directed the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and other relevant regulatory bodies to strictly enforce the ban on the packaging of high-strength alcoholic beverages in sachet formats beginning December 2025.

The lawmakers further resolved that no additional extension should be granted beyond the current moratorium.

The resolution followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by Senator Asuquo Ekpeyong on the need to halt further extension of the phase out of of Alcoholic Beverages packaged in satchet formats.

In his lead debate during plenary, Senator Ekpeyong reminded the Senate that NAFDAC, in line with international best practices and after extensive consultations with industry stakeholders had announced a phased ban on the importation, manufacture and distribution of alcohol packaged in sachets.

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

The MoU committed them to gradually phase out such products, citing rising health and social concerns over their affordability, portability and accessibility, particularly among children, adolescents, commercial drivers and other vulnerable groups.

The lawmaker recalled that despite the initial deadline, the Federal Government granted manufacturers an additional one-year moratorium in 2024 to enable them to exhaust existing stock and transition to compliant packaging alternatives, extending the phase-out until December 2025.

However, Senator Ekpeyong expressed concern that as the deadline approaches, some manufacturers continue to lobby for another extension, a move he said undermines regulatory authority, threatens public health and distorts fair competition in the industry.

He warned that the continued production of high-strength alcoholic beverages in sachet formats fuels youth addiction, road accidents, school dropouts, domestic violence and other social vices.

Following brief deliberations, the Senate resolved to also instruct the Federal Ministry of Health to remove any impediments preventing NAFDAC from carrying out its enforcement responsibilities.

The lawmakers also asked the Ministry of Health to expedite the release of the National Alcohol Policy, which should clearly prohibit sachet packaging of high-strength alcoholic beverages and support coordinated public sensitization efforts. (CHANNELS)

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