Table 1 Policy coding, short explanation, and implementation date for Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland
Policy number | Short description of alcohol policy | Exact implementation date |
|---|---|---|
Estonia | ||
1. Policy A | Excise tax increases by 10% for all alcoholic beverages | 2008–01-01 |
2. Policy B-11 | Excise tax increases by 20% for all alcoholic beverages | 2008–07-01 |
3. Policy B-21 | Reduced availability. Off-premise sales nationwide are prohibited between 10 p.m. and 10 a.m | 2008–07-14 |
4. Policy C | Excise tax increases by 10% for all alcoholic beverages | 2010–01-01 |
5. Policy D | Excise tax increases by 15% for all alcoholic beverages | 2016–02-01 |
6. Policy E | Excise tax increases by 10% for all alcoholic beverages | 2017–02-01 |
7. Policy F | Excise tax increases by 45% for wine and by 70% for beer | 2017–07-01 |
8. Policy G | Excise tax increases by 5–20% for all alcoholic beverages | 2018–02-01 |
Latvia | ||
1. Policy A | Retail sales are prohibited from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m | 2002–06-14 |
2. Policy B | Excise tax increases by 11.5 for beer and by 33% for wine | 2009–02-01 |
3. Policy C | Excise tax increases by 7.9% for spirits and by 50.3% for beer | 2009–07-01 |
4. Policy D | Excise tax increases by 7.1–12.5% for wines | 2010–02-01 |
5. Policy E | Excise tax increases by 9–12% for all alcoholic beverages | 2019–03-01 |
Lithuania | ||
1. Policy A | Excise tax increases by 10% for beer and by 20% for other beverages, other implemented policies included banning alcohol advertising on TV and radio during daytime and increased penalties for drunk driving | 2008–01-01 |
2. Policy B | Availability restrictions such as banned off-premise sales from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m | 2009–01-01 |
3. Policy C | Excise tax increases by 23% for ethyl alcohol, by 92–94% for intermediate products, and by 111–112% for wines and beer | 2017–03-01 |
4. Policy D | Reduced availability by increasing the legal minimum age to 20 years (with additional enforcement criteria such as a request for an ID upon purchase if a customer appears to be younger than 25); and reduced off-premise sales hours to 8 pm-10 am Monday-Saturday and on Sundays till 3 p.m.; also, a near full alcohol advertising ban was implemented | 2018–01-01 |
Poland | ||
1. Policy A | Excise tax increases by 9–16% for all alcoholic beverages | 2009–03-01 |