PUNCH
Amarachi Okeh reports on the significant public health threat posed by counterfeit alcoholic drinks infiltrating the Nigerian social scene. Her investigation highlights the severe health risks associated with these fake beverages, the economic toll on legitimate businesses, and the damaging effects on consumer confidence in local markets and nightlife culture
In the midst of the bittersweet atmosphere at a burial ceremony in Oba, Anambra State, the gentle hum of conversations blended with the sound of clinking bottles. Servers moved swiftly, ensuring drinks and plates were filled as guests shared memories and offered condolences. Enyinnaya Erondu and his two friends were among the mourners who joined the bereaved in sombre solidarity.
But beneath the seemingly ordinary ritual of gulping down food and drink lay a hidden danger. Unaware of what they had consumed, the three friends soon faced an ordeal that turned their grief into a two-day struggle to stay alive amid intense suffering.
The health crises they faced, were no doubt a haunting reminder of the dangerous prevalence of fake alcoholic drinks circulating in Nigeria’s social gatherings.
For two days after the burial, Erondu’s body was not the same. He came down with a throbbing headache that refused to go away and sweated profusely the day after the event.
He was constantly thirsty and dehydrated despite guzzling bottles of water continuously.
It all began after he took a sip of what he now suspects was a counterfeit bottle of beer at the burial ceremony. The taste seemed off even from the first sip, raising his suspicion.
It wasn’t just Enyinnaya who felt the effects; two of his friends suffered the same troubling symptoms shortly after.
“When we drank it, we couldn’t help but notice that the taste was more bitter than usual. But we waved it off and kept drinking. I drank two bottles that day,” he recalled.
“It was when I got to my base in Nnewi that evening that all hell was let loose. I started having stomach aches, purging and had one crazy headache that I had never had before. The headache lasted for two whole days.
“I managed to go to work the next day with the headache but I was sweating profusely, so I called my two friends who attended the funeral with me to check if they were okay, and they said they weren’t feeling well either. It was then that it hit me—we all drank fake alcohol. The signs were there while we were drinking it, but we didn’t realise it at the time.”
This experience was a shock for the man who used to boast of his high tolerance for alcoholic drinks and the ability to drink up to six bottles at a go without being intoxicated.
In a good turn, the fateful incident caused him to re-evaluate his lifestyle.
“Since that experience, I have seriously cut down on my alcohol intake just to be safe,” he revealed.
Fake alcoholic drinks unmasked
Fake or counterfeit alcohol refers to alcoholic beverages produced illegally without regulation or oversight, often by unlicensed operators in unsanitary and hazardous conditions. These products are commonly made with cheap substitutes, unsafe additives, and ingredients not fit for human consumption, as explained by public health practitioner Adebayo Adekunle.
Nigeria’s alcoholic beverage industry generates about N2.18tn annually. However, both the soft drink and alcoholic beverage markets are rife with fake products—a persistent challenge that the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has been battling for years.
The issue has escalated into a public health emergency due to the severe health risks associated with counterfeit alcoholic drinks, which are often manufactured using toxic chemicals.
Legitimate alcoholic beverages contain ethanol, the only alcohol safe for consumption when used within regulated limits.
However, counterfeiters seeking to reduce production costs frequently replace ethanol with cheaper, often toxic, chemicals, creating a serious health hazard, as noted by Interpol in its assessments of counterfeit alcohol risks.
Alcohol poisoning from counterfeit drinks leads to dangerous symptoms, including confusion, loss of coordination, vomiting, irregular or slow breathing, pale or clammy skin, low body temperature (hypothermia), stupor (where the person is conscious but unresponsive), and unconsciousness (passing out).
These symptoms arise from ingesting toxic substitutes often used in fake alcoholic beverages, such as methanol, which the body processes differently from ethanol and can cause severe health risks.
