Nigeria will phase out sachet-based alcoholic drinks by 2023, the country’s public health regulator NAFDAC announced on Wednesday.

“NAFDAC and the Federal Ministry of Health met on this issue with the distillers association, a couple of days ago,” NAFDAC chief Moji Adeyeye told the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday. ““We all agreed that we are going to carry out the ban in phases.”

 Mrs. Adeyeye said the ban would come in phases, but manufacturers have already been advised to start cutting production.  

NAFDAC has long advised against consumption of alcoholic beverages in sachets and small volume glass and Poly-Ethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottles.

Alcohol is widely consumed across Nigeria, and its sales impact often reflects in the country’s economic output.

Alcohol in sachets and plastic bottles has long been deemed by experts as a factor contributing to substance and alcohol abuse in Nigeria.

Alcohol itself contributes to three million deaths each year worldwide. It has also been linked to many health crises in humans.

Alcohol is also a toxic and psychoactive substance with dependence producing properties.

ng to carry out the ban in phases,” she said.

The director-general also said that, pending the time lapse, the distillers association were told to reduce the level of alcohol drink in sachets, and that they have agreed to do that.

Adeyeye said the distillers association had also been tasked to run a social responsibility campaign against underage drinking, adding that a jingle would soon be on air in this regards.

She, however, called on Nigerians to always do things that would depict the moral values enshrined in the nation’s