The 13th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health

Objective: The purpose of this paper is to examine development of national tobacco control policy, to assess current situation and draw some guidelines for the future.

Methods: Legal acts, regulations and other official documents connected with tobacco control were analysed.

Results: During the last decade Lithuania has made substantial progress in development of tobacco control policy. The first step in creating the legal basis for national tobacco control was adoption of the Law on Tobacco Control 1995, followed by establishment of the State Tobacco and Alcohol Control Service in 1997. The National Tobacco Control Programme was approved by Government and launched in 1998. The total ban on tobacco advertising was enforced in May 2000. Ten amendments to the Law were made and Government issued over one hundred resolutions and regulations dealing with tobacco. A new Law on Tobacco Control was passed by the Parliament in 2003, it deals with practically all spheres connected with tobacco growing, product manufacturing, advertising and promotion, sales and imports, tax and price policy, smoking in work and public places, support to smokers for quitting, and formulation of the state tobacco policy. This Law also brought Lithuania in line with EU Directives. Developing of comprehensive tobacco legislation was just a good start. The next most challenging task will be mobilizing human and financial resources for proper implementation of the national tobacco control program. Further development of health oriented tobacco policy and following through with implementation will result in reducing diseases and death from tobacco use.