Sachet alcohol: A N100 threat Nigeria must not ignore

Thousands of Nigerians begin their day with something far more dangerous than tea: cheap alcohol. At bus stops, motor parks, roadside kiosks and places frequented by young people, sachets and tiny plastic bottles have made spirits remarkably easy to obtain. The small package may look harmless. It is not.

The Federal Government, through the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), deserves support for its renewed nationwide enforcement against alcoholic beverages sold in sachets and PET bottles below 200 ml. NAFDAC says the prohibition covers production, importation, distribution, sale and consumption. Its central argument is persuasive: small, cheap packs facilitate access, concealment and underage drinking and can encourage harmful patterns of consumption.

This is not merely a personal choice. Alcohol is a public-health and public-safety issue. The World Health Organization links harmful alcohol use to liver disease, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, mental-health disorders, injuries and cancers. It also identifies restrictions on physical availability, drink-driving countermeasures, taxation and treatment as among the effective tools for reducing alcohol-related harm.

Nigeria has an additional reason to act. Every driver who drinks before driving potentially converts a private habit into a public threat. The Federal Road Safety Corps has consistently identified human factors as a major contributor to crashes. While claims that alcohol alone causes 75 to 90 percent of Nigerian crashes should be treated cautiously unless supported by current FRSC data, driving under the influence remains an entirely preventable risk.

Nor should the economic argument be ignored. Manufacturers, distributors, retailers and petty traders have livelihoods tied to the alcohol value chain. Industry representatives have previously warned that the ban could affect hundreds of thousands of jobs. The government must cushion legitimate workers, encourage manufacturers to shift to permitted pack sizes and prevent illicit operators from filling the vacuum.

But employment cannot become a licence to market a product in a form that makes harmful consumption easier. The question is not whether alcohol should exist; it is whether Nigeria should preserve the cheapest route to high-strength alcohol, including for minors.

The ban, however, must not become a publicity exercise measured only by the number of sachets seized. NAFDAC needs sustained surveillance, transparent enforcement, public education, community prevention programmes, stronger action against sales to minors, and treatment for addiction. Police, the FRSC, local authorities and health agencies should work together.

Most importantly, the government must maintain policy consistency. Conflicting signals undermine enforcement and encourage manufacturers and traders to gamble on another reversal.

Sachet alcohol may be cheap at the point of purchase, but its social cost is anything but cheap. Nigeria cannot afford to balance tax receipts and jobs against broken families, road deaths, addiction and preventable disease. If protecting the young requires taking the sachet off the market, the government should do so firmly and consistently.