Finns' alcohol consumption continues to decrease, despite fears of the opposite when beer and wine with a maximum of 8 percent alcohol content started being sold in food stores a year ago.
Consumption decreased by 4 percent last year, compared to 2 percent in the years before, according to the Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). Sales have decreased in both stores and at Alko, Finland's equivalent to Systembolaget.
That Finns have changed their consumption pattern to drinks with increasingly lower alcohol content is seen as an explanation for the decrease, according to the grocery trade.
The only category that increased at Alko was alcohol-free. In stores, the sale of alcohol-free beer has increased the most.
