Gospel singer Nacee kicks against FDA ban on celebrities not to advertise alcohol

Gospel artist Nacee expressed his disagreement with the decision by the Food and Drugs Authority to prohibit Ghanaian celebrities from endorsing alcoholic products.

Speaking on United Showbiz on Saturday, November 18, 2023, Nacee raised the question of why foreign individuals are allowed to promote such products, while restrictions are imposed on local celebrities.

As both a musician and music producer, Nacee emphasized that even if lesser-known individuals are granted permission to advertise, they may eventually gain celebrity status. Therefore, he argued that the ban on celebrities would be ineffective in the long run.

“A continued posting of images and videos of people make them popular. Nobody knew Michael Power until Guinness kept pushing his commercials,” he said. “If we feature an ordinary person in ads and keep promoting the said ads, they will rise to become popular in a couple of months so much that they may not be able to buy food from the roadside.”

He continued that “It is surprising that we won’t let our local celebs advertise but our foreign counterparts are allowed to. It is good to regulate whatever we do, but it should not be discriminatory. We love foreigners than ourselves… it doesn’t make sense. Let’s stop starving ourselves while giving foreigners the juicy deals.”

In 2015, the FDA imposed a ban on Ghanaian celebrities from promoting alcoholic beverages, citing adherence to a World Health Organization policy. The regulator stated that the decision was part of initiatives to safeguard children and deter them from being enticed into alcoholism.

Despite facing criticism and appeals for reconsideration, Kofi Essel, the Head of the Industry Support Services Department at the FDA, emphasized in an interview that the authority is unwilling to revoke the ban on well-known figures endorsing alcoholic beverages.

“Well known persons have the potential to influence their followers who are not legally permitted to possess alcohol or use alcohol,” he argued. “In view of that guidelines have been set to guide operations of alcoholic beverage companies, including advertisement of their products and this is the reason well-known persons are not allowed to endorse the products.”

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