Committee: The Third Committee of the

General Assembly (SOCHUM)

Topic: Tackling Childhood Alcohol and
Substance Abuse in Eastern Europe
Delegation: The Republic of Latvia
Name: Tuinea Andreea

The damaging effects of consuming alcohol, tobacco and other substances occur
primarily during adulthood; however, habits of alcohol use begin to develop during
adolescence, a period when experimenting and testing boundaries is common. Eastern Europe
has an extended history of binge drinking, cigarette addiction and substance abuse, with a
high rate of health issues associated with all of them. Unfortunately, most children are
exposed to alcohol, nicotine and illicit drugs at an early age as a result of societal
acceptability and normalization of their consumption in their community.
After World War 1, alcohol and tobacco usage in Latvia increased. Due to wages being
low and harder working conditions. Therefore, the establishment of the Latvian Anti-Alcohol
usage was founded in 1922. The organization fought against widespread alcohol harm among
adults and also having school based programs for children. Along with the Alcohol Act being
implemented to regulate alcoholic beverages. This act prohibited the sale of drinks with an
alcohol level of more than 1.5% after a certain time. However by the 1930s the country
became increasingly autocratic after the coup in 1934, establishing an authoritarian regime
under Kārlis Ulmanis. As a result alcohol consumption declined significantly. Until 1940,
when Latvia became a part of the USSR. In the 1950s, stronger alcohol like vodka or kanja
gained popularity because of the extensive immigration of Russians. Alcohol harm in Latvia
was prevalent due to its normalization, accessibility and availability. By the 1960s the
dangers of alcohol reached epidemic proportions.At the end of the Soviet Union, several
politicians used administrative procedures and policies such as closing production businesses
and regulating commerce to reduce alcohol harm.
Apart from this, teenage substance misuse is another problem that is as concerning as it is
frequent. Statistically, the addiction problem is increasing and exceeds the average indicators
of the Europeans and OECD countries. According to the data collected by the WHO in 2018,
26% of students aged 15 to 16 have tried illicit drugs, which is 8% more than in 2015.
 Recently, the pandemic experience has not only increased the use of addictive and
intoxicating substances but also made it more difficult to identify supply chains for these
drugs. The number of drug-related calls for medical assistance has climbed dramatically over
the last four years, although crime connected to narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances
has decreased by halves, reported the De Facto broadcast of Latvian TV.
Latvia’s National Programme on Drugs Control and Drug Addiction Restriction for
2011-2017 is focused on illicit drugs. It was developed in accordance with the Regulation for
Development of Planning Documents and Impact Assessment and the Latvian Strategic
Development Plan, reflecting the principles of the drug policy of the EU. It sets out three
main goals: to reduce the tolerance of illicit drugs use in society, to reduce the harm caused to
society through illicit drugs use by making effective healthcare services for rehabilitation and
to reduce their availability. Moreover, between 2017 and 2020, measures for disease
prevention, such as HIV, HBV and HCV, and health care promotion are to be implemented
within the framework of the EU Social Fund and the state budget. Additionally substance and
drug use topics and harm reduction are addressed in the continuing education curriculum.
Along with this strategy, it is accompanied by an action plan built around four pillars: the
prevention of drug dependence and use, the healthcare for drug-dependent patients, the
reduction of drug supply and a cross-cutting focus on policy reduction, monitoring , data
collection and information analyses.
Latvian Medical Association mentions circulation of alcohol among schoolchildren as
one of the main problems in Latvia. Statistical data shows that 84% of schoolchildren have
consumed alcohol at one point or another. Teenagers often do not have any problem with
procuring alcohol. Approximately one-third of children have tried alcohol more than 40
times, which points to the problem of alcoholism. Notably, strong beer can have the same
impact as vodka, and the tax rate on vodka is EUR 5.35 per 1 liter, while the excise tax on
strong beer is only EUR 0.62 per 1 liter. A more rapid increase of excise tax on beer would at
least partially tackle one of the most popular issues. Another solution is to prohibit price
reductions and special offer commercials for alcoholic beverages across all media forms.
These actions would contribute to the demoralization of alcohol while also supporting wider
efforts to prevent and decrease alcohol harm.
As a post communist country, Latvia has faced many obstacles regarding alcoholism and
substance abuse, but the country is recovering, being more strict and trying to demoralize the
normalization of their consumption within their people. This requires a serious commitment
by the Government to ensure new firm policies and tougher laws to resolve this problem.
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