The amendments prohibiting alcohol advertising in the Republic of Lithuania came into force January 1st, 2018. The link to the Alcohol Control Law (only in Lithuanian language): https://www.e-tar.lt/portal/lt/legalAct/TAR.9E5C5C16B6E6/jaCBdtBuSM
The provisions of the new amendment of the Alcohol Control Law is very plain: 1st part of 29th article states that “Alcohol advertising is prohibited in the Republic of Lithuania”. Part 2 provides specific occurrences on what will not be considered advertising (brand names under detailed circumstances, region of origin, price of a drink, exposition of a drink for sales and information on sites for specialists or producers, etc.) The focus is on specifically listing, what will not be considered advertising, rather than providing exemptions for some types of advertisements. The control and decisions regarding compliance with the Law fall under jurisdiction of the Drug, tobacco and alcohol control department (NTAKD), which in case of observed alcohol advertisement on electronic media intended for the Lithuanian market, can issue a notification and ask court to order the removal of alcohol advertising from the information service provider. The courts are obliged to provide decision regarding permission or refusal to remove advertising within 3 days, and continued legal procedures in case of dispute, are prescribed within the Law. This, however, concerns only cases when advertising is intended for the Lithuanian market, and disregarding the origin of advertising.
Additionally, The Lithuanian Brewers Association signed its Brewers self-regulation code in December 2004.
These are the main principles of the Alcohol Control Policy set down in the Law on Alcohol Control:
– to reduce availability of alcoholic beverages through taxation;
– to ensure through State regulation measures the State’s control of alcohol, protection and strengthening of the health of the population and funding of the programmes of education for minors;
– to extend priority to production of alcoholic beverages by natural fermentation and import and sale thereof;
– to limit promotion of sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages;
– to prohibit the means of promotion of buying and consumption of alcoholic beverages by youth;
– to encourage legal persons who are engaged in the alcohol business to join in implementing the state alcohol control policy;
– to increase public information regarding the issues of the social and economic harm inflicted on health and economy through the consumption of alcohol;
– to sponsor action programmes of health and temperance societies and thus augment the number of people who don’t consume alcoholic beverages;
– to promote the production and sale of non-alcoholic beverages;
– to support planning of an alcohol-free living environment. It shall be permitted to engage in retail trade in alcoholic beverages in retail establishments and catering established in multi-family dwellings;
– to promote scientific research and dissemination of information concerning the harm caused to health by consumption of alcohol;
– to strengthen the cooperation with other Member states of the European Union and international organizations regarding the issues of the reduction of the consumption of alcohol. (Article 3, Law on Alcohol Control).
Key aspects of the Alcohol Control Act (translated into English):
Article 2 Main definitions
Item 10. Alcohol advertising means the dissemination of information in any form and by any means related to the commercial, economic, financial activities of enterprises that promote the purchase and / or consumption of alcohol products.
Article 28. Prohibitions regarding promotion
1. It is prohibited for companies, European legal entities, and their branches in the Republic of Lithuania:1) to give alcoholic beverages as a bonus, as an supplement to a product or as a gift;2) to use coupons printed or otherwise distributed in the media, which would allow the holders receive fixed discounts on alcoholic beverages or use these coupons for partial or full payment. 3) to organize the distribution of samples of alcoholic beverages free of charge, except for tastings at exhibitions and fairs;4) to organize games, promotions, competitions, or lotteries that would encourage the purchase and / or consumption alcoholic beverages;5) to sell specialized promotional publications for the promotion of alcoholic beverages printed in the Republic of Lithuania or foreign countries and imported into the Republic of Lithuania6) to enable the buyer immediately and / or within a certain period of time or after the fulfillment of certain conditions to win, receive a gift or receive a supplement of alcoholic beverages after the conclusion of a consumer purchase and sale agreement;7) announce the reduction of the prices of alcoholic beverages;8) manufacture and / or sell food, toys and other goods for children and adolescents, whose design imitates alcoholic beverages and / or their containers. 2. Companies, European legal entities and their subsidiaries are prohibited from using persons under the age of 20 for promotion activities of alcoholic beverages sales.
Article 29 Prohibition of alcohol advertising
1. Alcohol advertising is prohibited in the Republic of Lithuania. The same article in detail describes items, that are not considered advertising (for example, information for professionals, labels on packaging, trade names if they are the same as the name of beverage on producers transport, office buildings, etc., labeling details, alcoholic beverage group, subgroup, category, alcoholic beverage country of origin, geographical indication, region, producer of alcoholic beverages or alcoholic beverages trade names and registered trademarks, price of the alcoholic beverage when this the information shall be provided at the point of retail sale or catering where the alcoholic beverages are sold to the consumer or on the Internet by companies producing or marketing alcoholic beverages sites.
