“I have already drunk about 8 liters,” “We need to go to the store-cafe.” Alcohol restrictions: do they work? 0 8

People interviewed on air who do not hide that they consume alcohol admitted that the established restrictions do not bother them.

“I’ll be honest with you, I drank this morning, so since half past one last night, I’ve only been drinking beer. I have already drunk about 8 liters. (...) I have no problems. (...) That’s my life. I got divorced and lost my wife, three children, and so on. It’s hard to get through, as they say, everything,” said Viesturs.

“It doesn’t bother me. I usually stock up for the evening so that I have something normal to eat in the morning, and it doesn’t bother me.”

“What’s the difference — take more if you need it, go ahead,” said Janis.

“We need to go to the store-cafe,” replied Gundars.

“I know where to buy. I go there. (...) There is cologne. Yes, I drink anything that burns. (...) No, I’m fine. But I only drink after work. I’m a builder. I build houses.”

And Ivar responded: “I can tell people that if they can’t get it, then they don’t buy it. If it’s easy to get, then they buy it.”

The chain of stores specializes in selling alcoholic beverages. Evaluating the trends since August, when the new restrictions came into effect, they responded as follows:

“The turnover of alcohol in monetary terms in August, September, and October 2025 compared to the same period last year increased by about 16%. (...) The sales volumes of wine (+34%) and sparkling wine (+25%) increased the most. The sales volumes of strong alcoholic beverages increased by one-fifth.”

“Purchasing alcohol is now planned more carefully, customers more often choose specialized stores where the selection is wider and purchasing beverages is more profitable. Beverages are purchased less frequently, but the volume of each purchase is larger,” the response stated.

In turn, the responses from the largest food retailers were quite similar — sales volumes decreased slightly, but significant changes in customer behavior were observed, especially on weekdays before 8:00 PM and on Sundays before 6:00 PM. During these hours, the volume of purchases increased even by 30-40% compared to the previous year, indicating that some customers consciously plan their alcohol purchases before the sales restrictions come into effect.

The defender of small stores, the president of the Latvian Association of Traders, Henriks Danusevichs, is outraged.

“The biggest blow in all this was that the restriction on the time of alcohol sales jeopardized the supply of food to remote areas and rural regions, as stores lose the material basis for operating from eight to ten and after eight in the evening.”

The association reported that 10–25% of grocery stores across Latvia are at risk of closing and are already closing.

“The Forbidden Method” decided to find out if it is possible to buy alcoholic beverages after eight in the evening after the law changed. In the Old Town, there were no problems getting recommendations for specific stores in the center of Riga. Another option is to shop in “Telegram” groups. An agent of the “Forbidden Method” managed to purchase alcohol in both ways.