Adolescent exposure to alcohol policy linked to later health

24.09.2025 - People who were exposed to more liberal alcohol policies in their youth had, by middle age, higher rates of alcohol-related illness and death than those who grew up under stricter alcohol policies.

According to the research, alcohol policy has had long-term effects on young people’s alcohol-related morbidity and mortality. A doctoral study at the University of Helsinki followed the later health outcomes of young people exposed to different alcohol policy changes in the 1960s and 1970s.

“Alcohol-related morbidity and mortality later in life appear to correlate with the kind of alcohol policy Finns were exposed to in their youth,” says doctoral researcher Juha Luukkonen from the University of Helsinki.

The connections between alcohol policy and health are strong. Alcohol-related morbidity and mortality were 10–20% higher in cohorts exposed to more liberal policies. For example, after the Beer Act came into force in 1969, the minimum purchase age for alcoholic beverages dropped from 21 to 18. Those who could legally buy alcohol at a younger age were more likely to develop and die from chronic alcohol-related diseases compared to those who only gained legal access at 21. The younger the age of legal purchase, the stronger the association, leveling off for those affected by the 18-year age limit.

When alcohol policy was tightened in the 1970s with tax increases and a ban on advertising, the long-term alcohol-related morbidity and mortality of those cohorts was lower. Finnish drinking habit surveys support these findings.

Alcohol policy effects may take decades to appear

Large-scale alcohol policy reforms in Finland, combined with comprehensive health registers, enabled researchers to follow individuals exposed to policy changes for decades, with precision down to their year of birth.

“Policymakers should recognize that the health impacts of today’s alcohol policy may only materialize decades later,” Luukkonen says.

The study used Finnish registry data and past alcohol policy changes, such as the 1969 Beer Act and the 1977 alcohol advertising ban.

“We were interested in young people because early onset of alcohol consumption has previously been shown to persist into later life, but less is known about how alcohol policy can influence this,” Luukkonen notes.

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Doctoral defence:

MSc (Econ) Juha Luukkonen will defend his dissertation at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, on 26 September 2025 at 12:00. The dissertation is titled “Alcohol Reforms and Health – Register studies about exposure to changing alcohol policies in adolescence and pregnancy.” The public examination will take place in the University’s Main Building, Hall 3003 (Tekla Hultin), Fabianinkatu 33.

The opponent will be Associate Professor Mauricio Avendano (University of Lausanne) and the custos will be Professor Pekka Martikainen.

The dissertation is published electronically and available in Helda.