32nd International Institute on the Prevention and Treatment of Alcoholism [antikvár]

DRINKING HABITS, SOCIETAL CHANGE AND ALCOHOL POLICY: THE CASE OF FINLAND, 1968-1984 Jussi Simpura, Social Research Institute of Alcohol Studies, Helsinki, Finland A central issue related to alcohol control policies is the complicated interplay between culture, living conditions and political interests, all changing with different rates. Typically, cultural transformations are slow, living conditions are changed more rapidly, and political opinion may fluctuate quite suddenly. The case of Finland serves as an example here. Cultural conceptions on drinking have been centered around the experience of intoxication, the societal change in the post-war years has been extremely rapid, and alcohol policy has been a central political issue for decades. The last 20 years are of exceptional interest. At the beginning of 1969, a radical liberalization of liquor legislation was enacted, leading to an accelerated increase in aggregate alcohol consumption until 1974. Since then, the consumption has been constant. At the same time, urbanization and structural changes in production peaked in the early 1970s. This period is covered by a series of extensive surveys on drinking habits in adult population, from 1968, 1976 and 1984. Some central features of Finnish drinking habits, like the high share of consumption at occasions leading to a high BAC, have remained constant, despite the radical changes in alcohol policies and social environment. This indicates the persistence of traditional cultural patterns. Also the relationship between consumption level and various consequences of drinking has been constant. However, many qualitative changes were stopped when the big quantitative change came to an end in the mid-70s. There are new features in drinking practices that may lead to a situation where alcohol control policy is losing some of its traditional importance, as drinking itself becomes more smoothly integrated in the emerging new urban lifestyle. In general, arguments needed to develop alcohol control policies may be different in different times, although the factual basis of such policies, i.e. the connection between consumption and consequences, remains unchanged. - 5 -