-Letter of Support-
For Lithuania’s World Class Alcohol Policy System
Addressed to:
Members of Parliament Republic of Lithuania
Dear Honorable Members of Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania,
People in Lithuania hold strong beliefs that individuals and communities are connected. Surveys show that for Lithuanians, relationships are important as means to achieve shared goals and identity. They value safety and responsibility towards others in the community.
Thanks to these values, most people in Lithuania, including our local members, assign the highest priority to health and well-being of their families and communities.
That’s why it matters that families and communities are protected from alcohol harms. As we all know, in Lithuania and internationally, the products and practices of the alcohol industry have for a long time put our children, friends, and colleagues into harm’s way. Violence, suicides, road traffic deaths, mental ill-health, liver disease – every Lithuanian knows someone who has been harmed by alcohol.
And that’s why support for Lithuania’s alcohol laws is increasing. Lithuania’s alcohol policy development has been a success so far. Data from the WHO and the OECD clearly show it. And the Lithuanian people experience it. We see that children and youth are better off thanks to improved alcohol taxation and the increased legal age. Safety and health are improving. People enjoy the absence of alcohol violence, for example.
With the implementation of the scientifically proven alcohol policy solutions Lithuania has become a European and global role model. That’s something to be proud of. And it is something to develop, not demolish.
You will soon be meeting to decide whether to support these carefully designed alcohol policy solutions. As you do so, we respectfully ask that you put the health and wellbeing of Lithuanian children and youth, of families and communities first, by supporting the existing alcohol laws that are yielding so positive results.
Watering down or demolishing Lithuania’s world class alcohol policy system by undermining specific measures, would be risking the health and wellbeing of thousands of Lithuanians for years to come.
As a community, we wish Lithuanian families and society to experience the benefits of living in safety and good health. And we hope and support you to use alcohol policy solutions to achieve and promote these values.
Yours sincerely,
Kristina Sperkova, International President, Movendi International, Stockholm, Sweden, 15 December 2021
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