1. NDPHS ASA EG 18 Working Meeting,
Recent developments in field of alcohol and other psychoactive substances control in Lithuania
Jelena Talačkienė
Ministry of Health, LT
NDPHS ASA EG 18 Working Meeting,
21-22 March, Helsinki

2. Lithuanian Parliament 2018/12/13 adopted long-term strategic document – the State Drugs, Tobacco and Alcohol Prevention Programme for
Lithuanian Government adopted Inter-institutional Drugs, Tobacco and Alcohol Prevention action plan for
- 13 implementing institutions;
- with budget of more than €27,5 mln.
Lithuanian Government plans in the framework of public administration reform and reorganization of state institutions to establish joint institution for addictions (drugs + alcohol + tobacco + gambling) prevention and control

4. From 01/03/2019 excise duty for strong alcoholic beverages was increased by extra 10% by the initiative of the Minister of Health
Sales of alcoholic beverages are going down;
Revenues collected to the state budget are going up

7. Recent notifications of the Draft Amendment Law on Alcohol Control to the EU and the WTO
Draft Law on Alcohol Control of the Republic of Lithuania No. I-857 on Amendment of Article 28 No XIIIP-1666(2)
Description of content:
It is prohibited in Republic of Lithuania for undertakings, European legal persons and their affiliates in the Republic of Lithuania to produce and / or sell food products, toys and other goods for children and adolescents whose designs imitate alcoholic beverages and /or their packaging
The proposed regulation is analogous to the prohibition of the production and sale of sweets, snacks, toys or any other objects in the form of tobacco products which appeal to minors, which is set out by the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (Art. 16, 1(c) and which is successfully applied by many parties to the Convention for several years.
Draft Law 12/03/2019 was successfully notified to the EC and WTO

8. Notification already in process
Recent notifications of the Draft Amendment Law on Alcohol Control to the EU and the WTO
2. Draft Law on Alcohol Control of the Republic of Lithuania No. I-857 on Amendment of Article 18, No. XIIIP-1575(3)
Description of content:
It is prohibited to sell in Republic of Lithuania:
<...>
(4) beer, fermented beverages, alcoholic beverages belonging to the group of alcoholic cocktails with a strength of more than 6% alcohol by volume, packed in containers of more than 0,2 liter capacity, except where such beverages are packed in glass, ceramic, wooden or metal containers;
5) beer, fermented beverages, alcoholic beverages belonging to the group of alcoholic cocktails with a strength of no more than 6% alcohol by volume, packed in containers of more than 1 liter capacity, except where such beverages are packaged in glass, ceramic, wooden or metal containers;
(6) alcoholic beverages with a strength of more than 22% alcohol by volume, packed in glass and other containers intended for direct consumption
The aim of this regulation is to reduce the availability of alcoholic beverages by purposeful restriction of sale of alcoholic beverages, which are mainly intended for heavy alcohol drinkers / harmful alcohol users.
According to the Alcohol Consumption Study conducted by Vilnius University's, heavy alcohol drinkers often prefer cheap strong beer in plastic containers or cheap fortified fruit wine, which are particularly popular among heavy alcohol drinkers living in the countryside.
25% of beer sold in the country and about 19% of the total alcohol sold in the country. According to the publicly available data by the market research company Nielsen [2, 3], about half of drinking beer in rural areas is stronger than 6% alcohol by volume. Meanwhile, as it has been announced, the consumption of strong beer in rural areas is in fact not decreasing. The so called "yoghurt style cup" / "one-shot-glass" products are very cheap. Prices for both 0.1 liter plastic and glass containers vary from €1.35 to €1.50. Experts emphasize that action to reduce alcohol consumption in the Lithuania requires action, first and foremost to those who consume alcohol daily and get intoxicated with cheap strong beer in plastic bottles and fortified wine [2].
Notification already in process

9. + 6 municipalities in 2019 from the SPHP Fund and state subsidy to municipalities

10. more than 43 900 persons received ABI during July-Dec 2018
WHO Training Manual on ABI translated into LT and published
Training for 2000 GPs and nurses on ABI will be organized in from the EU structural Fund project on addictions prevention and treatment

11. TOBACCO
Still smoking?
How much does one consumed cigarette packaging cost for you?
1 week 21 EUR = fuel for a week
1 month  90 EUR = pair of shoes
1 year  1080 EUR = trip for two people
5 years  5400 EUR = good quality second hand car
15 years  EUR = initial contribution for hause

12. Consistent increase of excise duties of tobacco products and introduction of excise duty for
e-cigarettes
An increase in tobacco tax rates is foreseen for the next three years
The tax increase for cigarettes will be about 6% and for other tobacco products (including heated tobacco) an average of 14% from 1 March of each year
From 1 March 2019, an excise duty is be applied for e-liquids (0,12 euros/ml for e-liquids with or without nicotine)
The expected increase of the budget revenues due to the above described policy changes is around EUR 12 million in 2019

14. Recent challenges with novel (heat-not-burn) tobacco products (HTP)
Legal case with Philip Morris International on advertisement of IQOS
In 03/2018 DTACD identified, that tobacco company published the information about HEETS (hereinafter – tobacco products) acquisition points on IQOS website, encouraging the acquisition of the IQOS device (hereinafter – the Device) (e.g. information about the participation in the Club’s programme where points are collected, prizes and discounts are received, company offered for members of the programme to acquire the Device (with 50 percent discount).
In 10/2018 Court of first instance declared that:
identified circumstances  (IQOS is advertised together with tobacco pins, IQOS is dedicated for the tobacco heating) and the way the tobacco product is presented (a dedicated website) constitutes a common tobacco advertisement;
IQOS can solely be used for the heating of the tobacco products distributed by the company and vice versa;
When acquiring IQOS a regular user inevitably has to acquire the tobacco products distributed by the company as IQOS has no other purpose.
Therefore, attractively providing the information about IQOS device whose solely purpose is the consumption of the tobacco products distributed by the company, the company surreptitious advertises the tobacco products.
The tobacco company appealed against the decision of the court to a court of higher instance.
No decision of the court of higher instance is made so far.
Similar situation with HTP advertisement in FR, PT, ES, UK
2. Promotion of HTP as less harmful tobacco products to be with exceptional regulation and e-cigarettes as products for smoking cessation (TI and front groups letters to the Government and the Parliament)