alcohol abuse

Last October's general elections in Lithuania raised hopes for positive change, but the continuing state governance turmoil and the uncertainty of some reforms is already causing concern, President Dalia Grybauskaitė said on Thursday.

After Lithuania's parliament tightened alcohol trade, consumption and advertisement rules on Thursday, manufacturers have warned about emigration of the population amid disappointment in the administration's moves, adding that producers would have to halt investments and sack employees.

Following lengthy public discussions and parliamentary debates, the Seimas on Thursday significantly tightened regulation of alcohol sales, use and advertising, with some bans to take effect in early 2018 and others in early 2020.

Lithuania's 2016 per capita alcohol consumption figures released by the country's statistics office are lower than those published by the World Health Organization, but Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis says that this does not substantially change the situation.

Alcohol-caused mortality in Lithuania is on a steady decline, the country's statistics office said on Tuesday.

The fate of Lithuania's ruling coalition may depend on how the Social Democrats vote on a package of measures aimed at curbing alcohol consumption, Ramūnas Karbauskis, the leader of the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union (LFGU), the bigger party in the coalition, said on May 19.

The opposition Homeland Union–Lithuanian Christian Democrats proposes that the parliament temporarily suspend debates on a controversial package aimed at sharply reducing access to alcohol until political groups in the Seimas reach consensus and muster enough votes to pass the legislation.

Lithuanians consume the most alcohol in the world, according to 2016 data presented by a World Health Organization official in Vilnius on Tuesday.

Several hundred people gathered outside the parliament building in Vilnius on Tuesday to watch a show staged to protest against the ruling coalition's plans to restrict alcohol consumption at concerts and other mass events.

If Lithuania introduces a complete ban on alcohol advertising, it will hardly be able to enforce it on foreign-registered Internet sites, Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis said on Thursday.

The new government, it would appear, intends to start its work with harsh restrictions. Their newest idea – to ban children’s’ champagne as it supposedly is associated with alcoholism and encouraging alcohol consumption.

Over the last year, there has been a lot of attention to alcohol problems in general and drinking and driving in particular. A high-profile civil servant, a TV personality and more recently a candidate for Minister of Justice received a lot of negative publicity following arrests for drinking and dr...

Specialized retail stores for alcoholic beverages could be opened in Lithuania in 2018, Health Minister Aurelijus Veryga said.

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė says that the country's new parliament has so far made no big mistakes in its work, welcomes lawmakers' enthusiasm to combat alcohol abuse and calls on the general public not to rush into criticizing the ruling coalition.

Small-scale entrepreneurs say they would go bankrupt, if alcohol was moved out of food stores to specialized shops, as proposed by Lithuania's new ruling Peasant and Green Union.

Launched on Friday, the requirement for all buyers to show their IDs when buying alcohol in most supermarkets across Lithuania has angered some older buyers who say that checking passports of grey-haired seniors is a waste of time.

The Lithuanian Government on Monday withheld support for proposals to raise the minimum legal age for purchasing alcoholic drinks to 20 years from the current 18 years and to allow selling alcoholic beverages only in specialised stores. To read this article, try a €5.99 monthly subscription by click...

Beginning in autumn, anyone purchasing alcohol will have to show their ID to do so. To read this article, try a €5.99 monthly subscription by clicking here.