WHO Says Latvia’s New Alcohol Curbs Cut Deaths by 27% in Five Months

The World Health Organization’s European office said on 28 September that Latvia’s new restrictions on alcohol availability and advertising helped avert more than 60 deaths in their first five months, with alcohol-attributable deaths falling by 27 per cent, according to an assessment presented at Latvia’s Ministry of Health.

What the New Rules Changed

The measures, which took effect on 1 August 2025, reduced retail sales hours for alcohol, imposed mandatory delays on online and app-based alcohol delivery, restricted sales in gambling venues, limited small-size packaging and banned advertising of alcohol prices, discounts and promotional offers. WHO/Europe’s evaluation covered the period from 1 August to 31 December 2025, during which it recorded the drop in deaths from causes wholly attributable to alcohol. Latvia’s health minister said at the presentation that “effective alcohol policy can make a real difference” and that “we can save lives,” according to the WHO regional office.

Addressing One of Europe’s Highest Burdens

Latvia has one of the European Union’s heaviest alcohol burdens, with per capita consumption of around 14.2 litres a year, an alcohol use disorder prevalence of 23.3 per cent compared with an EU average of 10.7 per cent, and alcohol-attributable deaths accounting for 18.1 per cent of all deaths, more than three times the EU average of 5.2 per cent, according to WHO figures cited in the assessment. The reforms were grounded in WHO recommendations on reducing alcohol availability, which the agency has previously identified as among the most effective tools for cutting alcohol-related harm.

Why It Matters

Early results from Latvia offer other high-burden countries evidence that comparatively modest regulatory changes, such as shorter sales hours and advertising limits, can produce measurable public health gains within months rather than years. For a country that has struggled for decades with some of Europe’s highest rates of alcohol-related death, a sustained decline would mark a meaningful shift, though WHO’s assessment covers only an initial five-month period and longer-term data will be needed to confirm the trend holds.