Ghanaian Hiplife artist and entrepreneur, Mzbel, has criticized the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) for its directive banning alcohol advertisements by celebrities. In an interview on Onua FM, she revealed a personal experience from eight years ago when she lost a substantial amount of money due to this ban.
Mzbel explained that she had entered into a deal with Joy Dadi to advertise their alcoholic brand, receiving an initial payment of Gh₵25,000. However, the deal was abruptly canceled when the company learned of the FDA’s prohibition. Despite preparations for a billboard campaign and expenses already incurred, including photoshoots, the project was scrapped.
Expressing disappointment, Mzbel lamented that the cancellation left a significant balance unpaid, money she could have used to start a business or contribute to charitable causes. She emphasized her frustration over the lost opportunity caused by the FDA’s advertising restrictions on alcohol, which aimed to prevent minors from being influenced by celebrity endorsements.
The FDA’s guidelines, implemented in 2016, prohibit the use of well-known personalities in alcohol advertising to curb underage drinking, aligning with global health policies. Despite legal challenges, including a recent Supreme Court dismissal of a lawsuit contesting the directive, the ban remains in effect, prompting ongoing debate within Ghana’s entertainment and regulatory circles.
“They gave me Gh₵25,000 that was a long time. About seven to eight years ago. It was part payment; they had paid for my photoshoots and every other expense and we were preparing for a billboard before they realized about the FDA ban so we could not do the billboard.
“The pictures that we took and every other thing we did went to waste. They could bot take back the money because they had already paid me,” she noted.
“It worried me. I was pained by everything because the balance left was huge sum of money which I could have used to start a project and even donated to some people but I lost everything,” she added.