Over 60,000 Alcohol-Related Deaths Recorded As ACPN Backs NAFDAC’s Sachet Alcohol Ban
•OYENIYI AWOJOODU,
IBADAN — THE Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has thrown its weight behind the ban on sachet alcohol introduced by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), citing alarming statistics that link alcohol misuse to over 60,000 deaths in the country.
The National Chairman of ACPN, Pharm. Ambrose Ezeh, also 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, in a statement personally signed and made available to journalists through CEOAFRICA, described the policy reversal as a troubling setback for public health regulation.
He noted that in 2016 alone, more than 60,000 deaths were attributed to alcohol-related causes, including liver disease, alcohol-induced cancers, and fatal road crashes.
According to him, the figures firmly establish alcohol misuse as a national public health emergency requiring decisive regulatory intervention.
The ACPN chairman 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.
He explained that the deadline was later extended to December 2025 to allow manufacturers exhaust existing stock, adjust supply chains, and reconfigure production infrastructure in compliance with public health standards.
“The process was consultative, gradual and industry-accommodating,” Ezeh said.
He stressed that the public health justification for the policy “has never been in doubt,” noting that empirical data links alcohol misuse to approximately 29 per cent of preventable deaths in Nigeria and nearly half of all road traffic accidents.
According to him, the widespread availability of low-cost, small-volume alcohol products significantly lowers barriers of access, affordability and concealment, thereby facilitating underage consumption and high-frequency use among vulnerable groups.
“Sachet alcohol, in particular, makes procurement easier for minors because they are cheap, portable and easily hidden,” he stated, adding that studies and field data indicate that a significant proportion of minors independently purchase alcohol, with a preference for sachets and sub-200ml bottles.
Ezeh expressed concern that instead of upholding a regulation anchored in harm reduction and child protection, certain industry actors have intensified lobbying efforts, reframing the debate around affordability and moderated consumption.
While acknowledging that such arguments are often presented from an economic standpoint, he warned that they risk subordinating public health and child welfare to commercial profitability.
“The prohibition of sachet alcohol should not be treated as a symbolic regulatory exercise,” he said. “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 expenses and intergenerational harm far outweigh any temporary industry gains.
Ezeh further cautioned against relying solely on warning labels and age restrictions without strong supply-side controls, describing such measures as potentially ineffective without strict enforcement.
He also noted that the regulatory reversal mirrors broader enforcement challenges, including difficulties in eliminating open drug markets that facilitate the circulation of counterfeit and substandard medicines.
According to him, such inconsistencies 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.”