Reduce alcohol consumption, Nordic style

According to World Health Organization (WHO), alcohol consumption levels in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) are among the lowest in the European Union. This is because these types of drinks are not treated like any other commodity in these countries and are strictly regulated.

For the UN agency, the key elements of the success of its regulation are the following:

• Prohibitions or restrictions on marketing
• Tax and price policies
• The limitation of availability

Retail monopoly systems

The WHO stresses that one of the main ideas underlying the Nordic approach is the view that considering the health harm associated with alcohol consumption outweighs the potential economic benefits and income that may be derived from the sale of alcoholic beverages. For this reason, limiting the negative effects that it causes to society is the focus of the Nordic control measures.

Retail monopoly systems are a Nordic approach to putting this vision into practice and limiting the harms of drink, not only to drinkers, but also to those around them. All of the Nordic countries, except Denmark, but including Greenland and the Faroe Islands (autonomous entities within the State of Denmark), have chosen to create and maintain these retail monopoly systems, which are owned by the government and control when, where and at what price alcohol is sold.

The objective of monopoly systems is to limit the various negative effects of alcohol on the population and society. reducing the number of outlets and applying other regulatory measures, such as restriction of business hours and sales promotions. Each Nordic country has its own national policy framework and retail monopolies are an essential part of it.

Compared to other trading systems, Nordic retail monopolies have proven to be an effective tool in limiting the physical availability of alcoholic beverages and have been recognized as one of the best practices in international investigation and classification systems, such as in the overall report Alcohol is not an ordinary productprepared by an international group of scientists specializing in addictions.

Protect the young, protect everyone

The UN agency points to taxation as another powerful measure used by the Nordic countries, not only to increase public revenue, but also as a health measure. Even modest increases in excise duties in the region have resulted in considerable health benefits, as well as state revenue that can be used to invest in healthcare.

Taxation has also played an important role in protecting young people from the ill effects of drinking in these nations. High taxes have been shown to reduce alcohol consumption and harm to all of society, including heavy drinkers and adolescents. It is also shown that taxes delay the time when young people start drinking.

The concern for the negative effects of advertising on young people it was also one of the main reasons for countries like Norway to apply stricter bans and restrictions on marketing.

“A complete ban on alcohol advertising, enforced at the national and local level, is good practice to reduce sales and consumption,” said Ingeborg Rossow of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and one of the report’s authors. Alcohol is not an ordinary product.

“In Norway, the total ban on marketing, introduced as early as 1975 and added to other control measures, had an immediate and lasting effect in reducing sales and consumption. What started with a concern for the health of young people has had a positive effect for the whole of society, ”he added.

Collaboration with the Nordic countries

The Nordic approach combines extensive control measures with effective awareness campaigns to promote safer societies in countries, with less damage due to this substance.

“Since the early to mid-20th century, the Nordic countries have countered their history of heavy drinking and high harm rates through direct state control of the market and marketing, largely through sales in state monopoly outlets” , says an Australian researcher who has studied the effects of these systems and is co-author of Alcohol is not an ordinary product.

Robin Room adds that “this approach was somewhat weakened when Finland and Sweden joined the European Union and because of the pressures of private interests in this neoliberal era. But the Nordic monopoly systems, like those of the Canadian provinces and US states have retained a control system that has been shown to serve the interests of public health and welfare by reducing the social harms of alcohol.”

Given the leading role of these countries in the European alcohol policy agenda, the World Health Organization in Europe is exploring the possibilities of strengthen collaboration with the Nordic countries to document and disseminate best practices in reducing alcohol-related harm.

“Many of the Nordic countries are doing a good job of communicating the risks associated with alcohol, a toxic and dependency-producing substance that is responsible for more than 200 diseases and conditions, including cancer,” said the regional adviser. the agency in Europe for Alcohol, Illicit Drugs and Prison Health.

Carina Ferreira-Borges stated that “with a growing understanding of this, we can create environments where the healthier choice of drinking less is easy and not stigmatized.” The Nordic countries and their state retail monopolies are a very comprehensive example of how alcoholic beverages can be treated as non-ordinary merchandise.”