Alcohol and substance abuse in Nigeria is fast becoming a public health menace. The unregulated proliferation, sale and consumption of low-price sachet and other low-volume alcohol has accentuated the incidence of alcohol abuse in the country. The potential risks associated with this scenario are further aggravated by the habit of including medicinal plant extracts locally believed to have physical or sexual vitality-enhancing property in many of these alcoholic/non-alcoholic liquid brands. Despite the increasing prevalence of this problem and its attendant physical, mental, and social health impact, there has not been any scientific report specifically focused on the variety and the chemical constituents of these low-cost brands in the country. Theaim of this study, therefore, is to know the variety of the liquid brands available in major Nigerian cities, profile their chemical compositions – especially their alcohol and the medicinal extract contents. Surveys were carried out on convenient days starting from September 2022 throughMarch 2023 in randomly selected streets in Lagos, Ibadan and the federal capital territory, Abuja particularly market and motor park areas where alcohol-related activities were likely to be high. All sachet and other small-volume alcohol packaged brands encountered were inspected and relevant data such as brand names, name(s) and address(es) of the manufacturers/marketers, brand unit price(s), percentage alcohol content, inclusion or omission of medicinal extracts, and the presence or lack of the official (government) National Agency for Foods and Drugs administration and Control’s (NAFDAC) approval were captured. The surveys encountered a total of seventy-five (75) alcoholic and non-alcoholic brands (See table below). All the survey brands, except one (Alomo bitters), are manufactured in Nigeria with over 90 precent of these brands are produced in the South-western region of the country. Most of these brands existed in both sachets and in small-volume plastic containers. The sachet brands’ volumes ranged from 50 to 70 ml and sold for N30 to N70 per unit while the plastic container brands’ volumes ranged from 80 to 125 ml and sold for N60 to N200 per unit. Eleven brands were stated as non-alcoholic (zero %). Of the rest 64alcoholic brands, 54 had and 10 did not have their alcohol contents stated on their labels. The percentage (%) alcohol contents of the brands ranged from the minimum of 15% to the maximum of 45%. Over half of the brands exhibited high (more than 30%) alcohol contents. Two-thirds of the brands had about 60 different medicinal plant extracts and spices in various combinations, included in their contents. Only about 37did but 16 brands failed to disclose their medicinal extracts on their labels. A significant proportion of brands contain a variety of plant extracts (Asimina triloba, Lanneawelwitschii, Picrasmaexcelsa, Reglisse (Liquorice), Gentiane jaune, Rhubarb root, Guarana, etc.), food preservatives (sodium benzoate, citric acid E330), additives (aspartame, acesulfame-k etc.), flavours, colourants (Allural Red, Tartrazine E102) and supplements (Taurine, caffeine). Some these substances have toxicity concerns. More than half of these alcoholic and non-alcoholic brands did not indicate any therapeutic uses for their products. For those that did indicate their beneficial uses, these include physical and sex-related vitality enhancement, and alleviation of low back ache or menstrual disorders. Only eight brands failed to showcase the official approval (NAFDAC licence) to operate. It is worthy to note that 10 of the 14 brands which failed to specify their medicinal plant extract constituents were among those brands exhibiting government (NAFDAC) licence. None of the brands listed any adverse effectsagainst their products. Only 19 brands gave any form of general or specific warnings to those for whom their products are not recommended or are contraindicated. Potentially toxic chemical compounds such as plant-derived acetogenins, alkylated hydroquinones, Juniper berry, glycyrrizin, glycyrrhetic acid, quassin and neoquassin; and food additives Allura Red, tartrazine, aspartame, Acesulfame-k, citric acid (E 330), caffeine, several synthetic colorants and falvourings are included in many of the brands. These findings showthere is alcohol abuse risk in some Nigerian cities due to unregulated production, easy access and low cost of sachet and other small-volume packages. The %alcohol, some medicinal extract, and foot additive contents of some of these brands may not be safe for continued public consumption. There is a need for greater supervision/regulation of the production, sale and consumption of sachet and other small-volume alcoholic packages on one hand and for more effective alcohol-related public health awareness campaigns on the other.
