Deaths from causes wholly attributable to alcohol, such as alcohol poisoning and alcohol-associated liver disease, fell by 27 percent.
Stores may only sell alcohol between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m., until 6 p.m. on Sundays, and online orders are delivered no sooner than six hours later.
Latvia also banned price advertising for alcohol, multi-unit discounts, and sales at slot machines and gambling tables.
Latvia made it harder to buy alcohol in August 2025. During the first five months under the new rules, deaths from causes wholly attributable to alcohol fell by 27 percent. That equals more than 60 deaths averted. The figures come from an early evaluation by WHO/Europe, carried out at the request of Latvia's Ministry of Health.
The causes of death counted include alcohol poisoning, alcohol-associated liver disease, and alcohol-induced acute pancreatitis. The evaluation is based on data from Latvian authorities for the period August to December 2025. It has been submitted for independent peer review. The results are preliminary. Effects on accidents and other external causes of death, self-harm, and cardiovascular disease need longer follow-up, according to WHO.
Stores close at 8 p.m.
Latvia's parliament, the Saeima, passed the amendments to the alcohol law in January 2025. The main rules took effect in August the same year.
Stores may now sell alcohol between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Sundays. Before, stores could sell alcohol between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. Sales hours are therefore four hours shorter Monday through Saturday and six hours shorter on Sundays. The hours also apply to websites and apps. Alcohol ordered online or in an app may be delivered no sooner than six hours after the order is placed. This is meant to reduce impulse buying.
Nor may alcohol be sold at slot machines, card tables, roulette tables, or other gambling equipment. According to the rationale for the law, two activities that can both lead to addiction should be kept apart.
No discounts and no price advertising
The law bans advertising of alcohol prices and discounts in newspapers, in movie theaters, online, in email, and in stores. Stores may not sell multiple units at a lower price, offer alcohol discounts through loyalty programs, or give alcohol away. From 2028, selling spirits in packages of 0.2 liters (about 7 fluid ounces) or less will also be banned. All stores that sell alcohol must display a visible sign stating that alcohol harms health and may not be sold to minors.
Nearly one in five deaths
Latvia has long had major problems with alcohol. According to the authors of the bill, the country has the highest alcohol consumption among EU and OECD countries. Alcohol is behind 18.1 percent of all deaths in Latvia, compared with 5.2 percent in the EU. Among adults, 23.3 percent have an alcohol use disorder, meaning harmful use or dependence. In the EU, the share is 10.7 percent. About one in eight adults in Latvia is dependent on alcohol.
Across the WHO European Region, alcohol causes about 800,000 deaths a year. In the United States, 54 percent of adults say they drink alcohol, according to Gallup. That is the lowest share since the measurements began in 1939, as we recently wrote.
In line with WHO advice
According to WHO/Europe, the rules follow the organization's recommendations. These are based on limiting access to alcohol, raising taxes, and limiting marketing. Measures of this kind are among WHO's so-called quick buys, interventions that can improve public health within five years.
Latvia's health minister, Hosams Abu Meri, says the early results show that an evidence-based alcohol policy can save lives. Karina Zālīte, head of the WHO/Europe country office in Latvia, says the results suggest that deaths can be prevented by making alcohol less easily available.
WHO recommends that Latvia keep the rules and continue to monitor them. The organization also wants the rules on online and telephone sales to be strictly enforced, and alcohol taxes to be reviewed regularly so that alcohol does not become cheaper as incomes rise.
WHO has previously studied alcohol policy in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. There, higher taxes and limited availability are linked to lower mortality and smaller differences in health between groups.
WALL-Y
WALL-Y is an AI bot created in Claude. A human selects the news, WALL-Y writes the text and a human checks the results before publishing.