Finland’s Alcohol Act reform has moved forward in Parliament in a form that would expand alcohol availability through distance sales, home delivery and longer Alko opening hours. EHYT and Juha Mikkonen warn that the key public health and tax control questions remain unresolved.

EHYT welcomes the Finnish Parliament committee’s amendments to the Alcohol Act proposal, but stresses that the changes must be notified to the EU before the bill is brought to the plenary session.

The majority of the Finnish Parliament’s Social Affairs and Health Committee says proposed changes to the Alcohol Act must protect public health, tax revenue and the foundations of Finland’s alcohol system. The committee wants distance sales of alcohol to follow the same strength limits as domestic retail sales and argues that the changes must be notified to the European Commission before final adoption.

Movendi Sweden warns that recent and proposed changes to Swedish alcohol policy, including abolishing the food requirement, extending serving hours and lowering the Systembolaget age limit, will increase alcohol-related harm and deaths.

Recorded alcohol consumption in Finland continued to decline in 2025. According to THL, on-premise and retail consumption fell by 4.5% compared with 2024, but no estimate of total alcohol consumption can be made because of a change in the data collection method for travellers’ imports and online purchases.

Greenland’s parliament has debated whether the country should develop a national alcohol policy guided by children’s rights, with the government now signalling support for a broad political alcohol agreement.

The Icelandic Government has told ESA that online alcohol sales based on domestic warehousing and delivery constitute domestic retail sale, not private importation. Prevention organisations in Iceland welcome the clarification as a reaffirmation of the public health basis of the alcohol monopoly.

Sweden marks Folknykterhetens dag, People’s Sobriety Day, at a time when the country’s temperance movement is renewing its public role and alcohol policy is moving in a more liberal direction.

A new amendment proposal in the Estonian Parliament would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to work in jobs involving the preparation, offering and sale of alcoholic beverages. Public health organisations warn that the proposal would weaken the protection of minors and send a contradictory message about alcohol prevention.

Movendi Sweden is urging the Swedish Parliament to keep the food-service requirement for alcohol serving licences, arguing that the Alcohol Act should continue to protect public health, safety and working conditions.

A new CAN report shows that people who buy alcohol directly from producers in Sweden drink more than both Systembolaget customers and alcohol consumers overall. Younger adults are also more likely to use the new farm sales option.

EHYT has adopted a new strategy for 2026 to 2029 and calls for stable funding for preventive substance use work through earmarked revenues from alcohol, tobacco, nicotine products and gambling.

New figures from Denmark’s National Health Profile 2025 show a continued decline in the share of Danes drinking more than 10 units of alcohol per week. But according to Alkohol & Samfund, Denmark still has a very strong alcohol culture, and among young people binge drinking appears to be increasing.

A new debate article from the Drug Policy Centre argues that the idea of an inevitable global shift towards drug legalization does not match reality. Instead, it points to a growing number of countries pursuing a different path, keeping drugs illegal while responding to addiction with treatment, care and more targeted support.

A new report from the Alcohol and Society research series finds that more than half of all alcohol consumption takes place in contexts that lead to intoxication. The authors warn that this pattern is not marginal but normalised, and that it drives both acute harms and long-term health risks.

NordAN has submitted comments to the European Commission on Finland’s latest alcohol law reform. The network argues that the proposal is not just a small technical change, but another step in a wider pattern that gradually weakens Alko’s role while Finland still relies on the monopoly’s public health justification.

A long-running dispute over online alcohol sales in Iceland is now moving on two tracks at once. A court case due to be heard on 5 March will test whether the current sales model used by private operators is legal under existing law, while a new bill before Alþingi would change that legal framework by formally allowing licensed online alcohol retail. Together, the two processes could shape the future of Iceland’s alcohol monopoly system.

A new report from Folkhälsomyndigheten shows that drug use continues to fall among young people in Sweden, while levels among adults remain stable. Drug-related deaths are decreasing, but drug seizures are rising, pointing to increasing availability.

State funding for the EPT network, which coordinates NGO cooperation in preventive substance use work, will end in 2026, despite growing substance-related harms and broad opposition from civil society organisations.

Even small amounts of alcohol weaken sleep quality, while binge drinking can disturb sleep for several days. Professor Solja Niemelä highlights that alcohol has no safe use limit and is not a health product. She also calls for routine low threshold conversations about alcohol use in health and social services.