On 26 April 2008 new amendments to the Law on Alcohol Control came into force. The amended Law abolished the unconditional prohibition to advertise alcoholic beverages in TV programmes.

 

According to the former amendments of the Law on Alcohol Control (see IRIS 2007-8:15), that came into force on 1 January 2008 alcohol advertising was prohibited from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. in broadcast programmes of broadcasters under Lithuania’s jurisdiction.

 

When the prohibition to broadcast alcohol advertising came into force the broadcasters of Lithuania suspended the live broadcasting of all sport games and began to broadcast them from 11 p.m. from the recordings.

 

The above decisions of the broadcasters were caused due to the fines imposed by the State Consumer Rights Protection Authority, which is responsible for control of alcohol advertising in the media. The State Consumer Rights Protection Authority imposed the fine for the broadcaster, because during the live broadcast of the basketball competition, logos of alcohol beverages were visible on the screen. The logos of alcohol products were visible on screen only in the background of the game, therefore the broadcaster could not technically avoid them (see IRIS 2008-4:17).

 

It is natural, that broadcasting of sport programmes, basketball, which is tremendously popular in Lithuania in particular, from the recordings after 11 p.m. arouse a wave of resentment from the fans and viewers side.

 

It should be noted that, the mentioned circumstances determined the necessity of amending the Law on Alcohol Control regarding advertising of alcohol anew. 

 

According to the newly amended Law, which came into force on 26 April 2008, alcohol advertising is prohibited on broadcast and rebroadcast programmes from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., except live and uninterrupted international broadcasts or re-broadcasts of art, culture or sports events.

 

Furthermore, the Law expanded the list of information which is not treated as advertisement of alcohol beverages, i.e. the registered names or trademarks of undertakings producing or selling alcoholic beverages, when such names or trademarks appear during broadcasts and rebroadcasts on irregular or unexpected basis and when such names or trademark images are ancillary as compared to the main programmes broadcasted or re-broadcasted.

 

It is important to note, that the newly amended Law foresees the complete prohibition of alcohol advertising in all media in Lithuania as of 1 January 2012. The aim of such prohibition is to reduce the spread of alcohol usage in the society, particularly among young people.