Consumers Alert: do you know! exposure of plastic bottled drinks to sunlight, injurious to health

By allcitynews.ng

With 2022 Consumers Day Awarness by Brand Journalists Association of Nigeria (BJAN) around the doorstep, 15 March 2022, there is need for thorough consumers awareness campaign based on the noticeable ignorant exposure of consumers to hazardous products.

In some societies, consumers are seen and treated as kings, but in Nigeria, consumers are made to suffer mainly because of ignorance of their rights and impatience to pursue their just cause.

The need to reenactment the warnings for producers to follow, for traders and consumers to follow gave birth to this writing.

It may no longer be news to many, the existence of Lagos State Consumers Protection Agency (LSCOPA). The fresh news here is need by this agency to go beyond the lips-sayings into action-taking on controlling of plastic bottled drinks.

Remember that tasks of LASCOPA includes, not limited to the need to engender a mechanism for consumers’ protection and ensure that consumers in the state have value for their money and create a sustainable confidence in them.

To ensure consumer satisfaction, value for money and protection from hazardous products; promotion of consumer rights, protection against hazardous and sub-standard products through regular public enlightenment.

Based on these governing rules,
then, the body should do more on protection of lives of innocent consumers following the risk of everyday exposure of plastic bottled drinks to hot sun.

Investigation by allcitynews.ng showed that from Ikeja, Idumota in Lagos Island, Yaba, Ojuelegba, Mushin, dealers in the plastic bottled drinks often pack these products outside their shops and allow them to remain inside the sun everyday.

It would however be recalled that LASCOPA came out with the campaign against exposures of plastic bottled drinks to sunlight some years ago,
“Exposure of plastic bottled drinks to sunlight is harmful to consumer’s health,” but the enlightenment died down at the detriment of innocent consumers.

Also, LASCOPA in one of its campaign outreaches announced that the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA) was established on the need to engender a mechanism for consumers’ protection and ensure that consumers in the state have value for their money and create a sustainable confidence in them.

That the Agency was established to uphold the rights of consumers in Lagos State. How far is that roles being followed gave birth to this writing.

A consumer, Alhaji Mukiala in Lagos Island said he was not aware that exposure of plastic drinks is harmful to health.

One dealer around Tejousho area, Yaba, Mrs Hajia Habibat, “I know that exposure of these drinks to sunlight is harmful, but customers will hardly see them if I keep them inside shop, so I have to bring them outside. But I normally sell the ones inside refrigerator to customers except those that need the packs.”

Around Mushin, a trader, Haji Kabiru, “I am not aware that putting plastic drinks inside hot sun is bad. Most people prefer that than buying very cold or iceblocked drinks.”

It is very common nowadays for traders to display their plastic bottled drinks inside hot sunlight.

Following this unnecessary risk, plastic bottled drink manufacturers should be made to carry the warning labels, ” Exposure to sunlight may be hazardous to your health, may make the contents unfit for human consumption. Exposure of plastic bottled drinks injurious to your health.”