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A recent study published in Addiction by Jürgen Rehm, Pol Rovira, Ahmed S. Hassan, Claire de Oliveira, Shannon Lange, Mark J. Thompson, Ilona Tamutienė, Vaida Liutkutė-Gumarov, and colleagues evaluates the impact of Lithuania’s 2017 alcohol excise tax increase. The policy raised taxes by 112% for beer, 111% for wine, and 23% for spirits, significantly reducing alcohol affordability. Using public data and World Health Organization methods, the authors conducted a return on investment (ROI) analysis from a societal perspective.

The study found that tax revenues rose by over €100 million, while productivity losses dropped by €35.3 million due to declines in alcohol-attributable mortality. Healthcare costs also decreased, although childcare and legal costs slightly increased. Overall, the ROI was estimated at €420 for every €1 invested, with sensitivity analyses ranging between €292 and €530. The findings demonstrate the policy’s effectiveness in improving health outcomes and delivering strong economic benefits to Lithuania.