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Polish capital bans nighttime alcohol sales

By AFP
March 13, 2026
A representational image of liquor bottles.— Reuters/File
A representational image of liquor bottles.— Reuters/File

WARSAW: Warsaw´s city council on Thursday voted almost unanimously to ban night-time alcohol sales in the capital of Poland, which ranks among the EU countries with the highest drinking-related mortality rates.

It is the latest in a series of bans in Polish cities that have proved popular with the public and have been followed by a fall in arrests for alcohol-related offences.

The new ban follows pilot programs in two Warsaw districts -- including the city centre -- where alcohol in shops and gas stations were banned from 10:00 pm to 6:00 am.

“We are responding to a real problem, namely noise, public disturbances, interventions by services, and sleepless nights for residents,” said Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski.

Night-time alcohol sales restrictions have been growing in popularity across Poland, with around 180 municipalities introducing controls between 2018 and 2024.

Many of the country´s largest cities, including tourist hotspot Krakow (southern Poland), Wroclaw, Szczecin and Lodz, have implemented such measures.

Krakow in particular noted a marked reduction in night-time disturbances after implementing night-time bans. In 2025, police intervened 52 times for excessive alcohol consumption there, significantly down on 2022 -- a year before the ban was put into place -- when they had to act 350 times.

According to Eurostat data from 2022, Poland was second in the EU for alcohol-related deaths, behind only Slovakia.