These figures are based on sales statistics compiled by members of the Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry.
The latest statistics compiled by the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira) also show that total alcohol consumption is on the decline. In the January-June period of 2012, domestic sales of alcoholic beverages fell by 5.2% on the corresponding period of last year.
Total consumption of alcoholic beverages has declined in recent years and the proportion of teetotal young people has risen during the 2000s in particular. The latest School Health Promotion Study and the Adolescent Health and Lifestyle Survey 2011 both show that a greater proportion of under-18s are becoming teetotal.
The results of the extensive European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD), published in May 2012, indicates that this trend is set to continue among Finnish under-18s.
”This is a positive trend and once again shows that advertising does not affect youth drinking or the total consumption of alcohol,” says Elina Ussa, managing director of the Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry. “It’s simply a competition for market share between brands. Mild alcoholic beverages have been advertised in Finland throughout the 2000s, during which time youth drinking has declined. We therefore have no reason to change legislation on alcohol advertising.”
Whereas Finnish under-18s are only medium alcohol users by European standards, the results from France’s latest school survey are, for example, a lot worse. The French model of restrictions on alcohol advertising has not curbed underage drinking.
Finnish alcohol consumption is around the European average. Beer accounts for about 47% of recorded alcohol consumption in Finland, although this figure would fall if travellers’ private imports were included. For comparison, beer accounts for 57% of alcohol consumption in Belgium and 50% in Spain.
”I think it’s worth investigating whether stores could sell alcoholic beverages up to a maximum of 5.5% volume, to support the diversification of beer culture,” says Ussa. “Finland can still direct consumption towards mild alcoholic beverages.”
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