Guidelines on advertising bans for alcohol and tobacco products
According to the Law on Alcohol Control and the Law on the Control of Tobacco, Tobacco Products, and Related Products, Lithuania has an absolute ban on advertising alcohol and tobacco products. These conditions also apply to influencer communication.
On December 2020, The Department of Drugs, Tobacco and Alcohol Control launched the Guidelines for Social Media Advertising of Alcohol and Tobacco for Influencers, relevant for brands, advertisers, and influencers.
Which cases are considered advertising?
Alcohol advertising is defined as information that is spread in any form and by any means relating to the commercial, economic, and financial activities of undertakings to encourage the purchase and/or consumption of alcohol products.
Cases considered to be alcohol advertising:
- Financial compensation for advertising. The company commissions an advertisement from an influencer for an alcoholic beverage and its brand, pays an agreed amount in goods or other future benefits, and the influencer creates the advertisement and publishes it.
- Free goods (gifts). The company gifts the influencer an alcoholic beverage and the influencer shares a photo or verbal information about it on their social network profile.
- Events and travel. The influencer participates in the event, broadcasts it on social media, and identifies various alcoholic beverages and their brands during the broadcast.
- Display of alcohol in a catering establishment. The influencer broadcasts that they are in a café, bar, etc., provides a link (in whatever form) to a specific location, and during the broadcast, the follower sees or can understand that alcoholic beverages are consumed. The influencer has received or will receive financial or other benefits from the publication of the information about the café, bar, etc.
- Advertising of a non-alcoholic beverage with an alcoholic analog. At a company’s request, an influencer publishes information about a non-alcoholic drink with similar or analog labeling to an alcoholic drink.
Advertising of tobacco and/or related products is considered the dissemination, in any form and by any means, of information on tobacco and/or related products that directly or indirectly encourages the purchase and/or use of tobacco and/or related products. Unlike in the case of alcohol advertising, no link to the commercial activities of a particular undertaking is necessary.
Related tobacco products are electronic cigarettes, refills, and herbal smoking products.
Cases considered to be tobacco advertising:
- Financial compensation for advertising. At a company’s request, an influencer talks about, depicts, consumes tobacco products and e-cigarettes, and features brands from the tobacco or e-cigarette industry on their social media.
- Mention of marketplaces. At a company’s request, the influencer provides verbal or pictorial information on their social media about marketplaces where tobacco products or electronic cigarettes can be bought and consumed.
- Events and travel. The influencer attends an event and publishes information showing the tobacco or e-cigarette industry brands and the use of tobacco products or e-cigarettes.
You can find detailed alcohol and tobacco advertising guidance on the Department of Drugs, Tobacco, and Alcohol Control website.
Liability and validity
It is important to note that the dissemination of alcohol and tobacco advertising is the liability of all parties involved in the dissemination of advertising, i.e., the influencer, the advertising intermediary, and the advertiser.
Fines for the dissemination of alcohol advertising:
- for businesses, between €2 896 and €28 962;
- for individuals, between €165 and €3 000.
Fines for the dissemination of tobacco advertising:
- for businesses, between €1 448 and €5 792;
- for individuals, between €165 and €3 000.
What is the aim of these restrictions?
According to the recommendations of the Department of Drugs, Tobacco and Alcohol Control, the aim of the ban on alcohol and tobacco advertising is to reduce the consumption of products that cause harm to human and public health.
The purpose of the display ban is to protect children from smoking or drinking alcohol, or to delay as far as possible the age at which young people start to smoke or consume alcoholic beverages, and to support people who smoke but want to quit or who have given up smoking, and to support people who consume alcohol, but want to stop, or who have stopped drinking. Also, to reduce the attractiveness of smoking or alcohol consumption, reduce and prevent dependence on tobacco products and tobacco-related products or alcohol, and reduce and prevent the occurrence of health-related harm and risks.
If you have any questions or concerns about the bans on alcohol and tobacco advertising, please contact ntakd@ntakd.lt
