Uusitalo Liisa, Nevalainen Jaakko, Rahkonen Ossi, Erkkola Maijaliisa, Saarijärvi Hannu, Fogelholm Mikael, Lintonen Tomi
University of Helsinki, Finland.
Tampere University, Finland.
Nordisk Alkohol Nark. 2022 Dec;39(6):589-604. doi: 10.1177/14550725221082364. Epub 2022 May 16.
The Finnish alcohol law was reformed in January 2018. The availability of alcoholic beverages in grocery stores increased as the legal limit for retail sales of alcoholic drinks was raised from 4.7% to 5.5% alcohol, and the requirement of production by fermentation was abolished. We analysed how the inclusion of strong beers, ciders, and ready-to-drink beverages in grocery stores was reflected in alcohol purchases, and how these changes differed by age, sex, level of education and household income. The study sample included 47,066 loyalty card holders from the largest food retailer in Finland. The data consisted of longitudinal, individual-level information on alcohol purchases from grocery stores, covering the time period between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2018. The volumes of absolute alcohol during a calendar year from beers, ciders, ready-to-drink beverages, and in total, were calculated. Alcohol purchases in 2017 and 2018 were compared. There was no overall change in the total alcohol (0.04 [95% CI -0.03, 0.11] litres/year) or beer purchases (-0.05 [95% CI -0.11, 0.02] litres/year). Purchases of ready-to-drink beverages increased by 0.10 [95% CI 0.09, 0.11] litres/year (+ 84%). Total alcohol purchases increased in the three highest income groups, whereas they decreased in the two lowest groups ( for the interaction < 0.0001). The increased purchases of alcohol as ready-to-drink beverages were, on the average, compensated for by a decrease in purchases of other alcoholic beverages. Higher prices probably limited the purchases among lower income groups and younger consumers, while the increase was sharper in higher income groups.
芬兰的酒精法于2018年1月进行了改革。杂货店中酒精饮料的可获得性增加，因为酒精饮料零售的法定酒精含量上限从4.7%提高到了5.5%，并且取消了发酵生产的要求。我们分析了杂货店中烈性啤酒、苹果酒和即饮饮料的纳入如何反映在酒精购买上，以及这些变化在年龄、性别、教育水平和家庭收入方面有何不同。研究样本包括来自芬兰最大食品零售商的47,066名忠诚卡持有者。数据包括来自杂货店的酒精购买的纵向个体层面信息，涵盖2017年1月1日至2018年12月31日期间。计算了一历年中啤酒、苹果酒、即饮饮料以及总体的纯酒精量。比较了2017年和2018年的酒精购买情况。总酒精购买量（0.04 [95%置信区间 -0.03, 0.11]升/年）或啤酒购买量（-0.05 [95%置信区间 -0.11, 0.02]升/年）没有总体变化。即饮饮料的购买量增加了0.10 [95%置信区间 0.09, 0.11]升/年（增长84%）。三个最高收入群体的总酒精购买量增加，而两个最低收入群体的总酒精购买量减少（交互作用<0.0001）。即饮饮料酒精购买量的增加平均被其他酒精饮料购买量的减少所抵消。较高的价格可能限制了低收入群体和年轻消费者的购买量，而高收入群体的增长更为明显。
