The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has announced a ban on the production and sale of alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets and small bottles below 200 millilitres, effective December 2025.
NAFDAC Director General, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed this during a press briefing in Abuja, where she emphasized that the directive was part of the agency’s efforts to address growing public health concerns.
“The proliferation of high-alcohol-content beverages in sachets and small containers has made such products easily accessible, affordable, and concealable, leading to widespread misuse and addiction among minors and commercial drivers,” Adeyeye said.
She added that this public health menace has been linked to increased incidences of domestic violence, road accidents, school dropouts, and social vices across communities.
Backstory
The decision to phase out sachet-packaged alcohol has been in development for a while. In 2018, NAFDAC, the Federal Ministry of Health, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), and key industry associations such as the Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers (AFBTE) and the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN) signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to gradually eliminate high-strength alcoholic beverages sold in sachets.
The MoU was designed in response to growing concerns that cheap and portable alcohol products were being consumed by children, adolescents, commercial drivers, and other vulnerable groups. Public health experts had linked these products to increased rates of addiction, road accidents, and domestic violence.
Initially, the ban was expected to take effect after the five-year period, which was in 2023, but manufacturers requested extensions, citing the need for more time to adjust production lines and manage existing stock. In 2024, the Federal Government granted a one-year moratorium to enable companies to exhaust their inventory and transition to safer, compliant packaging. This pushed the deadline to December 2025.
Senate resolution and phased ban
According to Adeyeye, the directive aligns with a Senate resolution that raised alarm over the availability of cheap alcohol drinks in sachets, which have become easily accessible to minors and contribute to rising social problems.
She clarified that no further extensions will be allowed, urging manufacturers and retailers to comply ahead of the new deadline.
“The Senate’s resolution is absolute and no further extension will be granted,” she said.
Adeyeye reiterated that the ban is not intended to punish businesses but to protect public health, stressing that enforcement will begin in January 2026 in collaboration with security agencies.
