National Wire About Nigerians, Nigerian Business and Other Stories
–Says Alcohol Abuse Killed 3 Million Persons In 2016
Tayo Olanipekun
Nigerians drink more of Ogogoro, Burukutu, Palm wine and other locally fermented beverages than they do beer, spirits and fine wine, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed.
Fortified wines, rice wine, palm wine or other fermented beverages made of banana, sorghum, millet or maize come under its classification, “Others,” and the global body said this category of drinks form 91 per cent of alcoholic drinks that Nigerians consume.
WHO, in its Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health 2018, also showed that in 2016, three million persons died worldwide from the harmful use of alcohol, representing 5.3 per cent of all deaths across the globe.
Mortality resulting from alcohol consumption is higher than that caused by diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and diabetes and a total of 132.6 million disability-adjusted life years also resulted from alcohol consumption in that year, according to the report.
The choice of drinks of Nigerians, as the report revealed, stands out in contrast with the global preference which is 44.8 per cent in form of spirits, followed by beer ranking as the second most consumed in the world.
It is noteworthy that Nigerians take lots of tincture and other roots and herbs from the local restaurants and street vendors as much as they do at many palm wine and raffia wine joints in many parts of the country.
The report, however, notes some regulatory lapses in the sales and consumption of alcohol in the country.
While the government has excise tax imposed on beer, wine and spirits, it does not have national legal minimum age for off-premise sales of alcoholic beverages.
Also, it observes there is no national legal minimum age for on-premise sales of alcoholic beverages and there are no restrictions for on-/off-premise sales of alcoholic beverages.
National Wire, however, recalls that 18 years is stated on the containers of alcoholic drinks, as well as payoff lines of advertisements, as the minimum age for purchasing alcoholic beverages in Nigeria.
