No abstract

No abstract

Aims-To review the consequences of the changes in Finnish alcohol policy in 2004, when quotas for travellers' tax free imports of alcoholic beverages from other European Union (EU) countries were abolished, Estonia joined the EU, and excise duties on alcoholic beverages were reduced by one-third, on the average.Design-A review of published research and routinely available data. Setting-Finland.Measurements-Prices of alcoholic beverages, recorded and unrecorded alcohol consumption, data on criminality and other police statistics, alcohol-related deaths and hospitalizations, service use. Conclusions-Alcohol taxation and alcohol prices affect consumption and related harms, and heavy drinkers are responsive to price. In Finland in 2004, the worst-off parts of the population paid the highest price in terms of health for cuts in alcohol prices. The removal of travellers' import quotas, which was an inherent part of creating the single European market, had serious public health consequences in Finland.

Beer, wine, and distilled spirits are alcohol-based commodities that are bought and sold in the marketplace. But alcohol is also a drug with toxic effects and other intrinsic dangers such as intoxication and dependence. This chapter examines these different aspects of alcoholic beverages, paying special attention to the contrast between alcohol’s dual role as a commodity and as a drug. Alcohol exacts enormous costs, both financial and personal, not only from individual drinkers, but also from the people and institutions that surround them. Like tobacco and other harmful commodities, alcohol has the potential to cause harm in multiple ways.

No abstract