Some medical practitioners have lauded the move by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to enforce the ban on the importation, manufacture, distribution, sale, and use of alcoholic beverages in sachets, PET, and bottles of 200 ml and below.
The physicians who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Tuesday, described the ban as timely.
NAN reports that NAFDAC on Monday, Feb. 5, announced that the deadline given to manufacturers of the mentioned products to cease production in sachets, PET, and bottles of 200 ml and below bottles, elapsed on Jan. 31, 2024.
Dr Ajibike Orekoya, a Consultant Oncologist at the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Meta, told NAN that the decision would help to address the increase in the intake of alcohol among youths.
According to her, there has been increase in cancer cases that are associated with alcohol intake
“The government has done a good thing by placing a ban on the sale of sachet alcohol that has contributed negatively to the health of Nigerians.
“The increase in alcohol intake has increased with the sale of sachet alcohol and their has been increase with kidney cancer and others that are associated with alcohol,” she said.
Speaking also, Dr Nnenna Kalu, a Consultant Paediatrician at FMC Ebute Meta, said the ban would help to address the intake of alcohol by underage children.
According to Kalu, some underage children have easy access to alcoholic drinks in their communities, noting that the ban will help to restrict them if adequately enforce.
She said: “It’s unfortunate that in our country we don’t have regulations; there are so many things out there on the street that are accessible to children.
“Some of these substances increase the risk of cancer in underage people.
“Government should ensure that the ban is enforced thoroughly ,” she said.
Prof. Taiwo Sheikh, past President, Association of Psychiatrists of Nigeria (APN), told NAN that alcohol and drug abuse contributed significantly to the high degree of insecurity, kidnapping, rape, violence and other social vices bedeviling the country.
He described the development as the right way to go, saying that the products encouraged drug abuse because they were prone to be easily abused.
Sheikh, also a Lecturer at the Psychiatric Department of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, said that drug abuse was a risk factor for poor mental health conditions.
According to him, more than 80 per cent of causes of mental illness are traced to drug abuse.
“The adverse effects of drugs abuse on the Nigerian economy are massive, such that more stringent measures should be deployed to curb the menace.
“No human being under a normal sense of thinking would perpetrate any of such acts except he/she was under the influence of some drugs or psychoactive substances.
“So, the ban of alcohol production in sachets is a good step toward control of drug abuse, because the product encourages abuse,” he said.
In addition, alcohol addiction is a menace to family survival, children upbringing, marriage, personal earning and overall quality of life of the addicts, Dr Livinus Abonyi, a Medical Imaging Scientist, told NAN.
He said that the ban on production and sale of packaged alcoholic drinks in sachet forms by NAFDAC was a welcome development.
Abonyi said the production of alcohol in small sachets made it easily and conveniently available to consumers at all times.
According to him, alcohol is an addictive product which requires high degree of discipline on the part of the consumers to control it, instead of the alcohol controlling them.
“Alcohol addiction is a menace to family survival, children upbringing, marriage, personal earning and overall quality of life of the addicts.
“The production of alcohol in small sachets makes it easily and conveniently available to the consumers.
“It becomes more portable, easy to conceal even by the under- aged, cheap and affordable. All these features make alcohol to be patronised with any amount of money and therefore, available to all that are addicted,” Abonyi said.
A Consultant Gynecologist, Dr Ayodele Ademola, said the alcohol products constitute nuisance not only to the environment, but also to human fertility health.
Ademola, also the Medical Director, StrongTower Hospital and Advanced Fertility Centre, a Lagos-based private medical facility, told NAN that chronic alcoholic intake had negative effect on both sperm production and brain development of a baby in the womb.
He decried that the sachets and pet bottles of the alcohol were found in every nooks and crannies of the society and in most cases, blocking the drainage channels.
“Studies have shown that chronic alcoholic intake has negative effect on sperm production and brain development of a baby in the womb.
“Similarly, even if it is taken in a small quantity during pregnancy, it can as well affect brain development of the baby. So, pregnant women should completely avoid the intake of alcohol.
“Medically, alcohol should be taken between mild to moderate quality; anything above 5 to 100ml of alcohol should be avoided,” Ademola said.
The Gynecologist, therefore, urged the Federal Government to intensify efforts to do a comprehensive education programme to sensitise the public on the various effects/dangers associated with these alcoholic drinks.