The EU is considering new rules to make alcohol producers provide more information on labels, such as calorific value, composition and whether the drink is natural or a mixture. One Lithuanian politician, however, wants to go further and make wine labels carry repulsive images like the ones currently mandated on cigarette packaging.
While the EU once floated the idea, it did not receive much support. This is no reason for Lithuania not to do it, insists MP Aurelijus Veryga.
“There should be warnings about potential harm. For example, that consumption causes cancer: breast cancer in women, stomach cancer in men, oncological diseases in other places,” says Veryga, Lithuania’s former health minister.
The politician cites the example of the alcohol labelling methods presented earlier by Eurocare. These would use text and pictures to remind people not to drink and drive or sell alcohol to minors. There are also warnings about the harm of alcohol to pregnant women and its addictive effects.
“We have a precedent with the labelling of tobacco products – something similar could probably be extended to alcoholic beverages,” says Veryga.
Mantas Zakarka, head of the Association of Alcohol Producers and Importers, argues that this would not change much.
“We do not see and have no evidence that simply putting a picture on a product in itself discourages people from consuming it, or somehow encourages them to stop buying it,” he says.
However, the introduction of discouraging images on tobacco packaging six years ago has had a positive effect, the Department of Drugs, Tobacco and Alcohol Control believes.
“These visual aids are really very effective, they really draw the public’s attention and we can see that it has worked very well,” comments Gintaras Karanda, a spokesman for the Department. “If we look at statistics and studies that have been carried out in recent years, we can see that the consumption of traditional tobacco products has decreased significantly.”
At the same time, the use of heated tobacco products and e-cigarettes has increased.
Karanda attributes this change to the images on cigarette packs – he believes people are more likely to opt for products without repulsive imagery.
According to MV Group, one of the largest alcohol producers in the Baltic States, no country in the world has labelling rules as proposed by Veryga. And it would be pricey to meet them.
“For a single production line, such labelling equipment costs 300,000-400,000 euros. We have about a dozen production companies, so just adapting the equipment could cost us millions,” says Algirdas Ciburys, CEO of MV Group.
Moreover if Lithuania were to introduce labelling rules alone, this would encumber import and export of alcohol.
“The Lithuanian market is relatively small. And yes, some products we could produce only for the Lithuanian market, but some we simply could not continue to produce, because it would not be economically viable,” according to Ciburys.
According to the Statistics Department, alcohol consumption in Lithuania has risen lately. Last year, the average Lithuanian consumed over 12 litres of pure alcohol, almost 1 litre more than the previous year. (LRT/Business World Magazine)