NAFDAC and the industry battle over sachet alcohol, By Simbo Olorunfemi

There is enough to suggest that this is no longer just a matter of law and public good but an existential battle with corporate powers that will stop at nothing to have their way, no matter the cost, even if that happens to be putting thousands of life in the line of danger, a reason for which political leaders must stand firm and give NAFDAC the needed support to let the ban go into effect tomorrow as scheduled.

“This ban is not punitive, it is protective. We cannot continue to sacrifice the well-being of Nigerians, especially our children, for short-term economic gain. The health of the nation is its true wealth.” – Professor Mojisola Adeyeye

Was it not only a few weeks ago that we made the point about the canopy of ungoverned spaces all around us that has now crystallised into a festering polycrisis? The point then was that we are dealing with not only ungoverned physical spaces, but across different sectors, including that of Food and Drugs Administration, where NAFDAC, where as a regulator it has had its hands full, dealing with a myriad of issues from the proliferation of fake drugs, foods, and drinks, to the indiscriminate use of alcohol.

Perhaps the task would have been made easier for NAFDAC if only its wings had consistently found full expression in line with Section 30 of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Act, Cap. N1, LFN 2004, which empowers its Governing Council to make regulations, and specifically with powers over the alcohol industry in Section 5 of the Act.  But as we have seen with what suggests itself as a lingering uncertainty around the move by NAFDAC to ban sachet and small-volume alcohol (below 200ml PET/glass bottles), not even the fact that a regulation is framed with the mind to protect public health is enough to shield it from stumbling blocks often deliberately planted to frustrate the realisation of well-intentioned policies for public good, irrespective of the resolve and determination of the regulator.

Around 2017/18, the retailing of sachet alcohol (pelebe) began to gain a foothold in Nigeria, with major brewers responding to post-recession economic pressures by embracing sachetisatio, swiftly issuing out products to cater to the needs of consumers faced with low purchasing power to capture or retain this market segment.

A 2020 study on the “Use of sachet alcohol and sexual behaviour among adolescents in Ibadan” found sachet alcohol use prevalent among adolescents, associating it with risky sexual behaviour among them. 33.6 per cent of the students consumed it before their last sexual encounter, believing it to be a boost for sexual performance. University surveys found a higher level of use among undergraduates, some at harmful levels. Data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) paints a dark portrait of Nigeria, with over 50,000 lives lost annually…

It remains a puzzle how the regulator did not foresee the dangers that sachet alcohol retailing was bound to ignite. Nevertheless, NAFDAC was quick to recognise the danger that was brewing with the increasing proliferation of sachet alcohol drinks. The Agency flagged the dangers: easy portability encourages open consumption, leading to irresponsible behaviour; poor packaging risks contamination; and the low unit price triggering abuse. By December 2018, it signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with industry groups (Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria, Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers), halting new sachet registrations and planning phased reductions: 50 per cent production cuts from 2021, with the full phase-out set for January 2024.

This was an acknowledgement of the fact that sachets, though a recent, albeit problematic innovation, was fuelling irresponsible consumption, especially among the most vulnerable groups. NAFDAC, at different times, noted associations with substance abuse among children, adolescents, and drivers, as exacerbating road accidents and social vices. The small size of the sachets allows for concealment from adults, thus promoting bingeing, intoxication, school dropouts, violence, and other vices.

Studies noted that the availability and affordability of sachet liquor had triggered a “significant increase” in adolescent access by 2019, with alcohol being the most used substance among this group in the country. The youth drinking rate was found to have risen from 30 per cent (2015) to 55.8 per cent (2023), with sachets cited as facilitating heavy episodic drinking (22.5 per cent among 15–19-year-olds, the highest in Africa, according to a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Abuse was found to be a function of the proliferation of sachet alcohol for reasons of affordability (at between ₦50 and ₦100), portability, conceal-ability, and a high alcohol content (30 per cent-60 per cent of the volume), enabling easy access by adolescents and underage drinkers, with the poor enforcement of sales laws near schools.

A 2020 study on the “Use of sachet alcohol and sexual behaviour among adolescents in Ibadan” found sachet alcohol use prevalent among adolescents, associating it with risky sexual behaviour among them. 33.6 per cent of the students consumed it before their last sexual encounter, believing it to be a boost for sexual performance. University surveys found a higher level of use among undergraduates, some at harmful levels. Data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) paints a dark portrait of Nigeria, with over 50,000 lives lost annually to alcohol-related causes, and the proliferation of sachet alcohol at parks being a major source of supply.

The backlash against the imminent ban is back, with talks of economic sabotage and job losses. Sachet alcohol production, they claim, sustains thousands of jobs in packaging, distribution, and retail, and the ban will wipe those out. But critics argue that these companies, with the massive profits they have made over the years, have had enough time to pivot to responsible packaging and applying a bit of innovation to their production and distribution processes in the six years.

But even with the grim statistics, the promise from countries like Kenya and Uganda, which, following the ban on sachets in 2017 and 2020, respectively, have witnessed a reduction in cases of abuse, it has been difficult for the regulator in Nigeria to push through with this regulation. Despite the extensive consultation with industry stakeholders in 2018, which brought NAFDAC, the Federal Ministry of Health, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), and industry stakeholders including the Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers (AFBTE) and the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN) together, culminating in the signing of a five-year agreement to end the practice by January 2024.

It is concerning to see some stakeholders either pulling back, instigating attacks on the regulation, or employing subtle or not-so-subtle blackmail once implementation is imminent. Following such protests just before the January 2024 deadline, an agreement was reached, and the moratorium was extended to December 2025 “to give manufacturers time to exhaust old stock and reconfigure production lines.” December is here, and here we are again, back at the same spot we were in 2018. The backlash against the imminent ban is back, with talks of economic sabotage and job losses. Sachet alcohol production, they claim, sustains thousands of jobs in packaging, distribution, and retail, and the ban will wipe those out. But critics argue that these companies, with the massive profits they have made over the years, have had enough time to pivot to responsible packaging and applying a bit of innovation to their production and distribution processes in the six years. The resistance to the policy, some say, reeks of corporate arrogance. The grace period was more than enough time for operators in the industry to have made necessary adjustments.

There is enough to suggest that this is no longer just a matter of law and public good but an existential battle with corporate powers that will stop at nothing to have their way, no matter the cost, even if that happens to be putting thousands of life in the line of danger, a reason for which political leaders must stand firm and give NAFDAC the needed support to let the ban go into effect tomorrow as scheduled. NAFDAC’s Director-General, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, has explained that the ban on sachet and small-volume alcohol “…is not punitive; it is protective… safeguarding the health and future of our children and youth,” which is what should be paramount. The essence, she says, “is the prioritisation of long-term national well-being over short-term industry gain. We cannot continue to watch our people drink themselves to early graves.” There has to be more to life and business than the production and proliferation of pelebe.

Simbo Olorunfemi is a specialist on Nigeria’s foreign policy, a communications consultant, and managing editor of Africa Enterprise. Email: [email protected]