Lithuania moves to restrict alcohol-free beer and wine sales to minors
14.09.2026 - Lithuania is moving towards banning the sale of certain non-alcoholic drinks, including alcohol-free beer and wine, to people under the age of 18.
The proposed amendment to Lithuania’s Food Law would prohibit the sale, purchase or other transfer to minors of non-alcoholic beverages whose names use an established alcoholic beverage group, subgroup or category, such as beer or wine. Sellers would also be required to ask for identification when there is doubt about the buyer’s age and refuse the sale if identification is not provided.
The proposal, Government Bill No XVP-893(3), was notified to the European Commission through the EU Technical Regulation Information System (TRIS) on 10 July 2026. The notification concerns products such as non-alcoholic beer and wine and is subject to a TRIS standstill period ending on 13 October 2026. The draft legislation provides for the new rules to enter into force on 1 November 2026.
The measure is presented by Lithuania as part of its wider approach to protecting minors and preventing the normalisation of alcohol use. Lithuania already prohibits the manufacture and sale of products intended for children and adolescents whose design imitates alcoholic beverages or their packaging, a restriction that has applied since November 2019. The government argues that allowing minors unrestricted access to non-alcoholic products explicitly presented as beer, wine or other alcoholic drink categories would be inconsistent with that policy.
The Lithuanian notification acknowledges that the evidence does not currently establish a causal relationship between young people consuming non-alcoholic alternatives and later alcohol consumption. It nevertheless points to studies suggesting associations worth considering. A 2018 Japanese study, for example, found that schoolchildren who had consumed non-alcoholic beverages showed greater interest in or motivation to consume alcoholic drinks than those who had not, although the study does not establish causality.
The Lithuanian arguments also refer to concerns raised by the World Health Organization about the rapidly expanding market for zero- and low-alcohol products. WHO has noted that evidence about their overall public health effects remains limited, while raising concerns that products closely connected to established alcoholic drinks and alcohol brands may help normalise drinking, particularly among young people. WHO has called for the availability, marketing and public health effects of these products to be monitored more closely.
The proposal has already received significant parliamentary support. On 19 May, the Seimas approved the bill after its consideration stage by 66 votes to 7, with 26 abstentions. The amendment was initiated by MP Darius Razmislevičius, who argued that products imitating the taste, appearance and social rituals associated with alcoholic drinks can contribute to familiarising young people with drinking culture.
If adopted in its current form, the Lithuanian approach would not prohibit these products or restrict their sale to adults. Instead, it would extend an age restriction already familiar from alcohol, tobacco and energy drinks to a narrowly defined group of non-alcoholic products explicitly identified by alcoholic beverage categories. Lithuania argues in its TRIS notification that this represents a proportionate measure aimed at protecting minors while having only a limited effect on the EU internal market.
