Alcohol, Legislation, Lithuania, Markets and Companies, Taxation

"In this case we would probably need a separate analysis (on whether to raise excise duties – ELTA). But, of course, it could be one of the tools to decrease the level of alcoholism. Nevertheless, I am perfectly aware of people's reaction to that as society is much divided when it comes to this issue," she said Wednesday on the radio Ziniu Radijas.

Degutiene admitted that alcohol control data according to which a person in Lithuania consumes nearly 12 litres of pure alcohol in a year (given the shadow the amount of it would account for over 16 litres) is extremely worrying. Yet, as she claims, the ruling coalition has worked a lot in order to decrease alcohol consumption in Lithuania, writes LETA/ELTA.

The Seimas speaker stressed that high alcohol consumption rate in the country is a chronic problem and it is not at the capacity of a government to change it in a 4 years time, as a change basically depends on a person.