Latvia: Ban on Alcohol Use in Public Reversed
Changes in Latvia’s justice sector are leading to the reversal of the ban on alcohol use in public.
According to the Ministry of Justice, it was already decided in 2014 when work on reforming the administrative laws commenced, that carrying an open container of an alcoholic beverage in a public place would no longer be considered a violation. The decision is being coordinated with other ministries.
The justification given by the Ministry is that alcoholic beverages, unlike drugs, are not a controlled substance and that tobacco while having health ramifications is not banned for use in public.
If a person under the influence of alcohol disrupts the peace then it will be considered a violation of law.
At the moment, carrying an open container of an alcoholic beverage is permitted only in four cities: Jelgava, Liepāja, Rēzekne and Daugavpils. In five of the other largest cities in Latvia, including Rīga, Jūrmala, Ventspils, Jēkabpils and Valmiera, this is considered an administrative violation, though the degree to which it is actually enforced varies.
This weakening of alcohol control policy will no doubt affect the health of Latvians, specially considering that Latvia also reduced taxes on alcohol previously in the year.
Alcohol harm in Latvia
© WHO Global Alcohol Status Report 2018
As the WHO reports, Latvia has a high per capita total alcohol consumption of 12.9 litres comparative to the rest of the WHO European region. A very high percentage of people engage in binge alcohol use in the country, specifically 72.7% of alcohol using youth between 15 to 19 years and 59% of all people over 15 who use alcohol.
Alcohol harm is pervasive as Latvia is ranked on the highest end for years of life lost due to alcohol.
15.5% of the Latvian population suffer from alcohol use disorders, among men almost one third, and 10.4% suffer from alcohol dependence, both of which are above the averages for the WHO European region.
Data shows that Latvia is already suffering from a heavy alcohol burden. Latvia needs to improve alcohol control, not weaken it even more if the country is to curb the tide on alcohol.