Alcohol, Lithuania, Markets and Companies, Retail
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Friday, 26.04.2024, 19:19
Lithuanian stores start demanding ID from all alcohol buyers
The companies that proposed the scheme suggest they aim to prevent
sales of alcohol to minors and raise public awareness. They say no buyer data
would be collected, with buyers only requested to show their IDs to cashiers.
Critics say the step is aimed at diverting the
society's anger at politicians who discuss the possibility of selling alcohol
in specialized stores or sell alcohol at shorter hours.
The new scheme is envisaged in a memorandum,
which the companies signed with Health Care Minister Juras Pozela in June.
Laurynas
Vilimas, executive director at the Lithuanian Association of Trade
Enterprises, told that chains that
signed the memorandum take at least 95% of the Lithuanian alcohol trade market
in stores.
He expressed certitude that the ID requirement
will help tackle the alcohol addiction problem in Lithuania and raise awareness
of the public, particularly youth.
"Profits generated by alcohol is not a
priority for us, and showing an ID to a cashier is a symbolic act of
demonstrating that you are a conscious consumer," said Vilimas.
Some politicians and activists who suggest
that alcoholic beverages should only be sold in specialized stores, at shorter
hours or to older residents, see the latest scheme as a public relations
campaign.
Aurelijus
Veryga, president of the National Tobacco and Alcohol Control Coalition
who is running for parliament with the Lithuanian Peasant and Green Union,
maintains the step is targeted at giving businessmen "extra levers to put
politicians under the obligation of negotiating with them."
The union's leader Ramunas Karbauskis was even stricter, saying the campaign was
mocking the society. In his words, the political force will suggest a state
monopoly in alcohol trade.
Antanas
Matulus, a member of the parliamentary Health Affairs Committee,
dismissed the idea as ambiguous. In his words, demanding an ID from individuals
who are clearly not underage is "going a bit too far."