Expert backs sachet alcohol prohibition, urges safety priority
The Chief Executive Officer of AfriSAFE, Femi Da-Silva, has thrown his weight behind the Federal Government’s ban on sachet alcohol, stressing that the protection of life, health, and community safety
The Chief Executive Officer of AfriSAFE, Femi Da-Silva, has thrown his weight behind the Federal Government’s ban on sachet alcohol, stressing that the protection of life, health, and community safety must remain paramount.
Da-Silva made this position known in a statement made available to The Nation yesterday, following recent protests by food and beverage workers at the Lagos office of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) over the ban.
According to him, while the concerns of workers and small businesses affected by the policy are understandable, public safety considerations must take precedence.
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“As safety professionals and advocates for healthy workplaces, we recognise the economic anxieties this policy raises. At the same time, we must be clear: the protection of life, health, and community safety must remain the priority,” he said.
Da-Silva noted that sachet alcohol is relatively inexpensive, highly accessible, and often consumed in uncontrolled quantities, creating what he described as a “predictable risk chain” from an occupational health and safety (OHS) perspective.
Read Also: Sachet alcohol reversal endangers public health, exposes children – ACPN
He explained that easy access to sachet alcohol contributes to impairment on duty, leading to errors, workplace injuries, and fatalities, particularly in high-risk sectors such as construction, transportation, oil and gas, and manufacturing.
He also pointed to the rise in road traffic incidents linked to public consumption, as well as broader public health burdens that spill into workplaces in the form of absenteeism, reduced productivity, and long-term medical costs.
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While expressing empathy for workers and small-scale operators who may be negatively impacted, Da-Silva emphasised that a responsible transition is essential.
He called for clear timelines and effective communication from regulators, support for manufacturers and vendors to migrate to compliant packaging and alternative product lines, and more targeted public education on responsible alcohol consumption and workplace impairment.
“This is not about punishment; it is about risk reduction and harm prevention,” he said.
“Policies that curb harmful consumption patterns are part of a holistic safety ecosystem, alongside engineering controls, training, enforcement, and leadership,” he stated.
Da-Silva added that efforts to strengthen process safety, behavioural safety, and risk management across Africa would be undermined if upstream risk factors that impair safe behaviour and decision-making are ignored.
He urged regulators, manufacturers, labour unions, employers, and civil society groups to engage constructively on the issue.
