Deaths and liver diseases caused by alcohol have increased in Finland following the reform of the Alcohol Act in 2018, the Institute for Health and Welfare THL concluded in a fresh report.
In its revised form, the law raised the maximum alcohol content of drinks sold in grocery stores, convenience shops and petrol stations from 4.7 to 5.5 percent, while also allowing the sale of mixed drinks with liqor content in other outlets apart from the state-owned alcohol monopoly, Alko. This measure made alcoholic beverages somewhat more available in a country where the distribution of wine, beer and spirits is owned and controlled by the state.
The changes also envisaged longer opening hours for Alko retail outlets, yet balanced them with a 100-million-euro hike of the alcohol tax.
In 2019 and 2020 more people died from alcohol-related illnesses and alcohol poisoning than before the change in the law. In 2020 alone, the deaths of approximately 1,700 people in a nation of 5.5 million were attributed to alcohol consumption. In particular, alcohol-related liver disease deaths in men increased by 12 percent in 2019 and 22 percent by 2020.
Following the reform, alcohol-related mortality increased at a higher rate than consumption among the general population, which researchers interpreted as a token of heavy drinkers increasing their consumption more than others.
In 2021, Finland had the highest prices for alcoholic beverages in the EU, according to Eurostat. The cost of alcohol in Finland was 120 percent higher than the EU average, a significant increase from 2020, when it was 91 percent above the EU average. This is largely seen as a preventive measure.
In 2021, per capita consumption of alcohol in Finland was nine liters of pure alcohol. Alcohol consumption peaked at 12.1 liters in 2005, but has decreased steadily after that, dropping below 11 liters per capita in 2014.
Previously, medical experts have estimated that up to a million Finns may suffer the effects of substance abuse, be it as a bystander or an addict, as people are traditionally reluctant to interfere when someone they know has a drinking problem.
Finland is also home to the “kalsarikännit” (anglicized as “pantsdrunk”) phenomenon, where alcoholic drinks are consumed at home, dressed a slipshod way, mainly in underwear, with no intention of going out.