NAFDAC to Enforce Alcohol Sachet Ban by 2026
November 11, 2025 – Abuja
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has announced that enforcement of the nationwide alcohol sachet ban will commence in January 2026. The agency reaffirmed its commitment to protecting public health and curbing the dangers associated with unregulated alcohol consumption.
NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, made this known at a press conference in Abuja, emphasizing that the alcohol sachet ban would ensure full compliance with the prohibition of the production and sale of alcoholic beverages in sachets and small PET bottles below 200ml by December 2025.
According to Adeyeye, the enforcement aligns with the Senate’s recent resolution and has the full backing of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. She said the alcohol sachet ban is a vital step to protect children, young adults, and other vulnerable groups from the harmful effects of excessive alcohol use.
She noted that the widespread availability of high-alcohol-content beverages in sachets and small bottles has made them cheap, concealable, and easily accessible to minors, leading to addiction, misuse, and reckless behaviour, particularly among commercial drivers.
“The alcohol sachet ban aims to address the rising cases of domestic violence, road accidents, school dropouts, and social vices linked to alcohol abuse,” Adeyeye explained.
The NAFDAC chief recalled that in December 2018, the agency, alongside the Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers (AFBTE) and the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN).
The agreement originally set January 31, 2024, as the phase-out deadline for sachet alcohol but was later extended to December 2025 to allow manufacturers to reconfigure facilities and exhaust existing stock before full enforcement of the alcohol sachet ban.
Adeyeye said the latest Senate resolution aligns with Nigeria’s commitment to the World Health Organisation’s Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol, adopted in 2010.
“This alcohol sachet ban is not punitive but protective. It seeks to safeguard the health and future of our youth, guided by scientific evidence and global best practices,” she said.
She reiterated that NAFDAC would not compromise Nigerians’ health for short-term economic benefits, stressing that “a nation’s true wealth lies in the wellbeing of its people.”
Adeyeye clarified that the regulation targets only spirit drinks packaged in sachets and small PET or glass bottles below 200ml. She urged all manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to comply fully with the December 2025 deadline, warning that no further extension would be granted after the alcohol sachet ban takes effect.
She also announced that NAFDAC would work closely with the Ministry of Health, FCCPC, and the National Orientation Agency to intensify public awareness campaigns on the dangers of alcohol misuse ahead of the enforcement of the alcohol sachet ban.
Adeyeye reaffirmed that NAFDAC remains fully committed to ensuring that only safe, regulated, and wholesome products are made available to Nigerians, in line with its core mandate of protecting public health. Visit GMTNewsng for more news.
