ABSTRACT
Finland, Norway, and Sweden share a long heritage of using national alcohol control systems as a means to reduce the social and health consequences of alcohol consumption. Substantial changes have occurred in the alcohol control systems of Norway, Finland, and Sweden as a result of each nation’s association with the European Union. The Nordic countries do not have as strong a tradition of informal social control on drinking as the central and south European countries. There are three components that are the most important features of the Nordic alcohol control system: production, wholesale, and import monopolies; retail sale monopolies for off-premise consumption; and high alcohol retail prices. The chapter provides possible options for reducing the social and health consequences of consuming alcohol, if the three Nordic countries eliminate the off-premise retail monopoly and high prices that underpin their national alcohol control policies.
