ABSTRACT

In January 2015, new restrictions on the advertising of alcoholic beverages entered into force in Finland. The restrictions represent a novel approach as they are focused on techniques used in alcohol advertising, rather than the media used or features of the content of advertisements. This chapter sets the novel approach in the framework of alcohol advertising controls in Finland, reviews justifications for and evidence in support of the new policy, and discusses challenges related to the regulation of alcohol advertising in the digital era. The restrictions that came into force in 2015 were the latest in a series of revisions made in the Alcohol Act concerning alcohol advertising. The policy on alcohol advertising in Finland has gone through various stages since the Prohibition era, which in Finland was from 1919-1932. Restrictions on the content of advertising messages have tended to either establish what is prohibited, by giving a 'negative list', or what is permitted, by giving a 'positive list'.