By BONIFACE AKARAH

More than half of Nigerian minors and underaged children have direct access to alcohol, raising fresh concerns about a deepening public health crisis and validating recent regulatory actions against sachet and small-pack alcoholic beverages, a national study sponsored by the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN) in collaboration with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has revealed.

The findings are contained in a comprehensive survey on Underage Drinking and Abuse of Alcohol released by NAFDAC and signed by its Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye, who warned that the scale of alcohol access among children poses “a serious threat to Nigeria’s future public health and social stability”.

According to the study, 54.3 per cent of minors and underaged persons purchase alcohol by themselves, with nearly half obtaining drinks from sachets and small PET bottles, formats described as cheap, concealable, and difficult to regulate. The survey covered 1,788 respondents across six states representing Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones and was conducted between June and August 2021 by Research and Data Solutions Ltd, Abuja, with sponsorship from the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN).

NAFDAC disclosed that 49.9 per cent of minors and underaged children accessed alcohol through retailers, while similar proportions obtained drinks from friends and relatives, and 45.9 per cent from social gatherings. Alarmingly, 21.7 per cent reportedly accessed alcohol directly from their parents’ homes, underscoring what the agency described as “a collective societal failure”.

The report further showed that sachet and small-bottle alcohol dominates youth consumption, with 47.2 per cent of minors and 48.8 per cent of underaged respondents purchasing alcohol in sachets, while over 41 per cent obtained drinks in PET bottles. Rivers, Lagos, and Kaduna states recorded the highest prevalence, particularly in rural communities and among male respondents.

On consumption patterns, the study found that 24 per cent of respondents drink alcohol daily, while 54 per cent are occasional drinkers. Among minors, 9.3 per cent consume alcohol daily, and over 11 per cent drink at least once a week, figures NAFDAC said should “raise urgent red flags for parents, schools, faith leaders, and policymakers”.

Reacting to the findings, Prof. Adeyeye stated that the data clearly supports the agency’s position on restricting alcohol packaging sizes. “Access to alcohol by children can be significantly reduced if pack sizes that can be easily concealed are no longer available,” she said, adding that the ban on sachets and bottles below 200ml is a protective, not punitive, public health intervention.

She further stressed that underage drinking is no longer a marginal issue, noting that “consumption of alcohol by children should raise alarm across homes, schools, religious institutions, and communities,” while urging collective responsibility to curb what she described as “a preventable national menace”.

NAFDAC concluded that unless decisive action is sustained, Nigeria risks entrenching a cycle of addiction, school failure, road accidents, and social dislocation driven by early exposure to alcohol, reaffirming its commitment to “safeguarding the health of the nation” through evidence-based regulation and enforcement.