14.03.2023 - According to a survey conducted by THL in January 2023, 53 percent of Finns support the current alcohol policy. Nine percent of respondents wanted stricter policies, while 29 percent supported more liberal policies. "The percentage is the same as the previous year. Over the last five years, the percentage of those who find alcohol policy restrictions appropriate has varied between 53 and 57 percent," said Thomas Karlsson, a leading expert at THL.
Gender plays a significant role in the population's opinions. Men tend to be more liberal, with 39 percent of men supporting more liberal alcohol policies, compared to 19 percent of women. The difference between genders has been significant for a long time in all responses to alcohol policy questions.
Finnish opinions on alcohol policy are particularly divided over where wine should be sold. Less than half of the respondents (48%) believed that wine should be sold in grocery stores. This percentage was lower than the previous year's 54 percent.
If strong alcoholic beverages were also sold alongside wine in grocery stores, the percentage of those who want wine in stores drops to 25 percent, down from 29 percent in 2022.
The clear majority of respondents (87%) believe that Alko should continue to have a monopoly on the sale of strong alcoholic beverages.
THL conducts annual surveys to study the population's opinions on alcohol restrictions and the retail system for alcoholic beverages. Data was collected in January through phone interviews with a random sample of 18- to 79-year-old Finns selected from the population register, excluding Åland. The sample size was approximately 1,000, and it represents the entire Finnish population. Alcohol policy opinions have been monitored annually since 1984.
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