Could Less Litres Be Better?
Nigerians have consumed lesser amounts of alcohol year on year in the past 6 years, though the quantity consumed still exceeds that of non-alcoholic drinks.
Beyond the health risks associated with alcohol intake, poor discretion with alcohol purchase can lead to economic losses to individuals who indulge in it, WHO revealed.
Between 2018 and 2023, alcohol consumption decreased from 96 litres per capita to 82 litres. On the other hand, the consumption of non-alcoholic drinks increased from 20.6 litres per person to 27.2 litres, an analysis of Statista’s Market Insight Data reveals.
As per the total expenditure on alcohol, the report showed that Nigerians spend an average of $202 per person on alcoholic drinks in 2023. This is a 3.48% increase from the $195 in 2018.
In a report from the Alcohol and Drug Rehab Center, Blake Nichols stated that an individual may not realise that excessive drinking is negatively impacting their finances until the effects have become severe.
He emphasised that spending a lot of money on alcoholic drinks does not necessarily make an individual alcoholic, however, he suggested a regular review of both the obvious and hidden costs of too much drinking.
Further analysis shows that the average revenue that alcohol producers make from each drinker increased from $195 to $202 in the last 6 years, especially after a significant decline in 2020. Market Insights by Statista forecasts this to grow to $291 by 2028.
Do Bettors Get Better?
In the last 7 years, online sports betting users in Nigeria have increased from 400 thousand to 1 million just as the user penetration rate increased from 0.2% of the population to 0.4% as of 2023.
Some people derive fun and financial rewards from predicting the results of sports events by placing bets on them.
Just like alcohol consumption, an individual may not realise that excessive betting is affecting their finances.
Sports Betting is a form of gambling, and it may affect spending patterns negatively when it becomes an addiction and not properly managed.
Between 2017 and 2023, Nigerian users of online sports betting increased successively year on year. Total users peaked at 1 million in 2024 from 0.4 million in 2017.
Similarly, revenue derived from each online bettor in Nigeria increased by 38% between 2017 and 2023.
Overall, the online sports betting annual revenue in Nigeria increased from $85 million in 2017 to $256.9 million in 2023.
While betting companies are getting higher revenues over the years, do the bettors get better rewards?
When gambling becomes a problem, individuals may find themselves spending more money in an attempt to win back their losses, often without success. This pattern of behaviour can be difficult to control, the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling noted.
This trend suggests the proportion of individual non-food expenditure spent on alcohol consumption and sports betting. While these activities are not entirely wrong on their own, addiction and excessive spending on them could affect the pocket.
Pocket-friendly Fuel
Using Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to fuel vehicles saves up to 50% over conventional fuels like Gasoline (Petrol) and Diesel, a Virginia Natural Gas Report informs.
This may reduce the amount individuals/households spend on fuel and potentially ease their overall cost of living.
With petrol prices becoming as volatile as the product, turning to CNG sounds like good pocket science!
CNG vehicles function similarly to gasoline-powered cars as an alternative fuel for automobiles and power-generating plants. They are cheaper to maintain and emit low carbon compared to engines running on fossil fuels like petrol and diesel.
In Nigeria, the idea to substitute Gasoline with CNG gained traction in 2023 when fuel subsidy was removed, and petrol prices were adjusted to reflect market dynamics. The average petrol price increased from N257 in December 2023 to N668 in January 2024.
The increase in the price of petrol means Nigerians now spend 3 times what they spent on petrol in May 2023.
This is besides the added burden of inflation on food and other items.
The Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology disclosed in a one-day stakeholders’ engagement forum that focused on autogas as an alternative fuel for transportation in Nigeria in 2023 that autogas (CNG) will save about N1.84tn monthly for commercial vehicle operators in Nigeria, the Punch reported.
The Transport Institute further stated that Nigeria has an estimated 12 to 20 million vehicles, with 57% of them used for commercial purposes. It added that a typical commercial car driver could save up to N270,000 monthly if run on CNG.
For an average Nigerian who drives a commercial or personal vehicle, adopting CNG as a fuel could help in managing the high cost of fuel and the general inflation.
Businesses and homes could also use Compressed Natural Gas to power their generators and save operating costs which could be used to cater to other household needs.
Meanwhile, CNG car engines are biofuel, they can run on both CNG and petrol interchangeably.
Despite its benefits, the high cost of converting petrol-powered vehicles to CNG vehicles and insufficient CNG stations in the country has hindered the widespread adoption of CNG as an alternative fuel.
However, Stakeholders and individuals have called on the Federal government to seek partnerships with the private sector and gas marketers to increase the number of gas stations across the country. This way, citizens will have unlimited access to CNG.
Thanks for reading this edition of Pocket Science. This edition was composed by Funmilayo Babatunde.