Since the beginning of the year, Lithuanians no longer see any poster referring directly or indirectly to alcohol. On January 1, a measure came into force which bans advertising of alcoholic beverages on all media, whether on urban billboards, magazines, screens (Web, television) or radio. The foreign press is no exception: images of alcohol bottles will be crossed out with a red sticker on the pages of international magazines such as Newsweek or Vogue. “We have people in charge of checking magazines page by page and putting stickers on all alcohol advertisements before putting the magazines up for sale,” said Vigintas Bartasevicius, director of Press Express, quoted by The Revue du vin de France.
In addition to this prohibition, which is considered a form of censorship, there is also the ban on alcohol consumption for those under the age of 20.
These alcohol restrictions are not the first in the country. On January 1, 2016, alcohol had already been banned from sale in gas stations.
A public health problem
Why this turn of the screw? Lithuania remains one of the most heavy drinkers in the world. Lithuanians over the age of 15 drink an average of 13.2 liters of pure alcohol per person, according to estimates by the National Bureau of Statistics for the year 2017. Despite a slightly downward trend (the average has fallen by 1 L per capita from 2016 to 2017), the public health issue remains strong. The Peasants and Greens Union (LPGU), which won the legislative elections of October 2017, had included these restrictions in its campaign commitments. Promise kept therefore. It remains to be seen whether these measures will be enough to win the battle against alcoholism while about 50,000 people are affected by this addiction, according to International mail.
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