Night Prohibition? “Nobody goes to the station at night because they are planning their name day”

– We are finishing work on the draft of a ban on the sale of alcohol at petrol stations between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. – Izabela Leszczyna informed TVN24 at the beginning of July. – I would like us all to become civilized, also when it comes to alcohol consumption. That is why I say: petrol stations are not for selling alcohol, but petrol. But I am not saying that there will be no alcohol there right away – she emphasized.

She added that work on the project is nearing completion.

– It's a good idea. This is confirmed by the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as many studies and analyses – comments Katarzyna Łukowska, deputy director of the National Centre for Combating Addictions. – To reduce problems related to alcohol consumption, education alone is not enough. Rationing measures are necessary. The very limitation of the number of hours during which alcohol can be purchased causes consumption to decrease – she explains.

Experts warn that the losses resulting from excessive alcohol consumption exceed the financial benefits for the state. According to estimates by the State Agency for Solving Alcohol Problems (PARPA), the socio-economic costs amount to PLN 93.2 billion per year.

The ministry's announcements have alarmed some opposition politicians, who have treated the ban on selling alcohol at petrol stations at night as an attack on freedom. In April, Marcin Warchoł, a member of parliament for Sovereign Poland, wrote about this on Twitter. “Do you know that Smiling Poland will ban the sale of alcohol at petrol stations? You already know that.”

Also in April, Dariusz Matecki submitted an interpellation on this matter. Warchoł's colleague from Suwerenna Polska wanted to know, among other things, whether the ministry would precede such a regulation with research or analyses that would confirm its necessity, and also whether anyone had sought to introduce a ban. In response, the ministry referred to WHO data and assured that analyses were ongoing.

Wojciech Konieczny, Secretary of State and neurologist by education, responded to the interpellation on behalf of the minister. “It should be emphasized that limiting the physical availability of alcohol, including by preventing the purchase of alcoholic beverages in specific places, is, according to the World Health Organization, one of the most effective actions aimed at reducing alcohol consumption,” he wrote.

“Countries are advised to enact and enforce regulations on the physical availability of alcohol, such as shortening sales hours, setting an appropriate minimum age for purchasing or consuming alcoholic beverages, and reducing the density of sales outlets,” he added.

Why are petrol stations in the ministry's sights? – Nobody goes to a petrol station at midnight because they are planning a name day or stocking up for a barbecue the next day. These are always people at a party who underestimated their needs and ran out of alcohol – says Katarzyna Łukowska.

He adds that such people can pose a threat to themselves and others, because they are usually under the influence. – Regardless of whether they are driving a car in this state or going shopping in a group. Here, the state's preventive policy could work, because these are people who have already had too much to drink – he points out.

– Buying alcohol at night is incidental, but these incidents can be extremely dangerous. A relatively small number of customers are able to cause a lot of damage – adds Łukowska.

Marta Markiewicz, author of the book “Without alcohol and drugs I am boring”, organizer of sober SobeRave events, notes that stations do not seem to be the best place to sell alcohol. Also in the middle of the day. “I would suggest conducting a survey among sellers at stations on motorways and asking how many people buy alcohol at night. When I drive from city to city, it happens all the time during the day. I bet that a large part of these people are drivers,” she says.

Izabela Leszczyna has a similar opinion. In one of her interviews, she called the fact that alcohol is available at gas stations a “pathology” to the Minister of Health.

The Polish Organisation of Petroleum Industry and Trade believes that the regulations could violate the principle of equality before the law.

– The proposals that the Ministry of Health is working on, although justified by noble goals, may distort market competitiveness, but will not bring tangible results in the form of limiting the scale of irresponsible alcohol drinking – we read in the POPiHN position sent to the editorial office.

It is difficult to discuss alcohol at petrol stations because there is a lack of hard data. – Petrol stations make money on petrol. I have these analyses and less than 1% of petrol stations' income comes from alcohol – she claimed Minister Leszczyn in the One on One program on TVN24.

Other data is provided by POPiHN, although the organization admits that the profits are small. – In the first quarter of 2024, sales of alcoholic beverages at gas stations amounted to only 2.6% of their total sales value (in individual categories it was: 2.88% for beer, 2.59% for spirits and 1.4% for wine products). Revenues from the sale of alcoholic beverages are relatively small and amount to only about 12% of all non-fuel sales in gas station stores.

Nielsen IQ uses yet different data – as Business Insider reports, it shows that alcoholic beverages account for as much as 47.6 percent of non-fuel sales.

Who is right? It is not known. When the Demagog website asked the Ministry of Health to provide the data, the journalists were told to ask the Ministry of Finance for it. They were told that the Ministry of Finance does not collect such data.

POPiHN argues that although the revenue from alcohol sales would be small, having it in the station's offer is important. Why? It is about “ensuring the profitability of specific petrol stations and maintaining the competitiveness of shops at petrol stations, against chains of local shops or small discount stores” – we read. According to POPiHN, a ban or restriction on alcohol sales may even result in an increase fuel prices.

The industry would be willing to make sacrifices, however: “The concept of reducing the physical availability of alcohol could be accepted by the fuel industry if it applied to all sales channels.”

Marta Markiewicz says that the problem is primarily the glorification of alcohol consumption and its association with pleasure and relaxation. – A match with mates? A beer. A bike trip in full sun? A pint. Christmas? The best occasion to have a drink – she lists.

The mentality is changing a bit, though. When she organized her first alcohol-free party four years ago, she expected addicts to be her target group. “People signed up for the event, making 'funny' comments, sending them to friends, sharing them and laughing at the idea,” she says. There are fewer such comments now.

Katarzyna Łukowska from the National Centre for Combating Addictions also sees a change in mentality. – We increasingly understand that alcohol is not the same product as bread or milk, but a toxic, psychoactive substance. For this reason, it should not be subject to market rules. The state has the right to limit its availability. Alcohol is not a cure for fever, it does not have to be available 24 hours a day – she comments.

Limiting the availability of alcohol may not end with petrol stations alone. Almost 200 municipalities in Poland have already introduced the so-called night prohibition, i.e. a ban on the sale of alcohol during certain hours. – I know that their leaders were afraid of the reaction of residents, but it turns out that the vast majority are happy. Błażej Gawroński, former director of the Municipal Team for Prevention and Therapy of Addictions in Olsztyn, reported that after the ban was introduced, the number of interventions related to, for example, breaches of order decreased by half – says Łukowska.

– Whenever there are talks about a night-time sales ban, the usual argument is that there will be speakeasies selling illegal alcohol. Nothing like that has happened in any of the two hundred municipalities where a night-time prohibition has been introduced – he adds.

We asked the Ministry of Health: at what stage is the project regarding the ban on the sale of alcohol at stations between 10 pm and 6 am? What conclusions can be drawn from the analyses and public consultations? Can we expect the projects to be referred for further parliamentary work, and if so, when? By the time of publication of the text, we had not received a response.