It had previously been assumed that, for religious reasons, alcohol use was not a serious problem in the north. The use of alcohol in Nigeria is now fairly widespread, as evidenced by the fact that the number of local breweries, wineries and distilleries increased from about 8 in 1970 to about 25 in 1983, when the Government stopped issuing permits for new plants. Despite the ban on the importation of alcoholic beverages, foreign products are frequently smuggled into the country. It is not clear if this is a result of a preference for foreign liquor or of a supply shortage. There are discernable differences in usage patterns that reflect gender and socio-economic variations.
Females tend to consume wine and spirits, while males tend to consume beer.
Although the increasing use of alcohol in the Nigerian population is a matter of concern, it is the changing pattern of alcohol and benzodiazepine use among women that currently poses the greatest challenge. A number of reasons have been advanced for the involvement of Nigerian women in the use of alcohol and sedatives. Recently, and particularly within the past four years, the use of the psychoactive substances discussed above seems to have been on the decline. Since 1983, interest has been focused on cocaine and heroin use, abuse and trafficking. The trends in drug use in Nigeria indicate that heroin use in that country may not be very different from that in other African countries having drug problems of similar magnitude.