EHYT Calls for Coherent, Health-Focused Policy Shift
EHYT, the Finnish Association for Substance Abuse Prevention and a member of Movendi International, is urging Finland’s government to improve its alcohol, other drugs, and gambling policies. EHYT’s call comes ahead of the Finnish Government’s spring 2025 review.
EHYT highlights the urgent need for corrective action in four key policy areas:
- Alcohol availability,
- Funding for preventive work,
- Health promotion taxation, and
- Gambling regulation.
Alcohol Policy Undermined by Inconsistent Government Actions
Finland’s current government has worsened alcohol prevention by increasing access to harmful products while cutting funding for essential preventive services.
For instance, the government plans to reduce funding for organisations promoting health and well-being by €130 million by 2027.
At the same time, the government is proposing to expand access to wine in grocery stores and enable home delivery of alcohol, both of which contradict Finland’s social and health policy objectives.
EHYT criticises the government’s lack of an overall assessment of the cumulative impact of these changes.
EHYT warns that decisions to dismantle the exclusive retail system for alcohol defy the World Health Organisation’s recommendations and threaten people’s health. In fact, a study found dismantling Finland’s alcohol retail monopoly would increase alcohol use by 9% and alcohol-related deaths by 14%.
EHYT therefore demands that the government stop promoting wider availability of alcohol and instead reinforce policies based on public health, not commercial interest.
EHYT’s Proposal for Improving Alcohol Policy
- The availability of alcohol should not be increased – the sale of wines to grocery stores is no longer promoted, as this would increase consumption and harm at the population level.
- Furthermore, the sales of wine cannot be expanded without the question of places of sale of spirit drinks being resolved in the same context. The steering of alcohol policy must continue to be carried out on the basis of social and health policy.
- Enabling the home delivery of alcohol will be abandoned and instead intensified support measures will be directed at children living in a family where at least one parent has a serious substance use problem. These more than 89,000 invisible children need a safer environment to grow up in, not adding more alcohol to homes.
- An independent overall assessment must be conducted of the changes made by the Government to the Alcohol Act. It is a contradiction that the government programme promises to maintain an exclusive system for the retail sale of alcohol that limits the number of outlets, but at the same time decisions are made that place the entire system on a slippery slope towards dismantling.
Strong Public Support for Evidence-Based Alcohol Policy
EHYT’s advocacy reflects the will of the Finnish people.
According to a survey conducted by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL),
- 71% of people in Finland support the current or improved alcohol policy,
- 54% believe the current policy is appropriate, and
- 17% support further improved and upscaled alcohol policy measures.
Public support for selling wine in grocery stores has declined by 12 percentage points since 2022, and only 14% believe spirits should be sold in grocery stores. These findings show clear public backing for prevention-based, health-oriented policy.
Investing in Prevention Must Be a Government Priority
Despite growing drug experimentation and rising deaths related to alcohol and other drugs, Finland has underfunded prevention efforts. According to Statistics Finland, narcotic drugs account for over one-third of all avoidable premature life years lost in the country. Moreover, 89,000 children in Finland live in households with at least one parent experiencing a serious substance use problem. EHYT stresses that these children need much better protections and safer environments, not more alcohol delivered to their homes.
EHYT’s Proposal for Improving Prevention Funding
- The reform of organisational funding must take into account the proposal of the STEA advisory board to develop the overall funding model. Further work must involve organisations that carry out preventive work at the grassroots level.
- €10 Million must be directed immediately to the implementation of the preventive substance use disorder action program. The funding must be directed especially at the prevention of harm caused by alcohol, nicotine products, narcotic drugs and gambling.
- Additional funding is needed for community and individual-level substance abuse education in all age groups.
- Organisations must be provided with sufficient basic funding and earmarked project funding for the prevention of nicotine use and gambling problems among young people, as well as for the reduction of alcohol consumption by adults.
- Efforts must be made to strengthen parenting skills so that the well-being of families can be supported in a preventive manner and children can be protected from harmful substances.
- If the tax deduction right for donations planned for youth, sports, sports and child organisations fulfilling certain conditions is progressing, it is necessary to extend it to all social welfare organisations.
Health Promotion Taxes Must Be Fair and Effective
Finland has taken some steps to increase taxes on harmful product, such as raising alcohol and tobacco taxes and expanding tax obligations for alcohol ordered from abroad.
However, inconsistencies remain. For instance, the government lowered taxes on beer, undermining public health goals. Moreover, nicotine pouches are still taxed less than tobacco products.
EHYT’s Proposal for Improving Pro-Health Taxation
- The Government must launch a report on the ear marking of taxes on harmful products directly for the prevention of harm.
- In 2023, the return on alcohol tax was €1,463 million and the return on tobacco tax was €1,156 million. Gambling brought the state €625 million. In total, these returns amounted to €3.24 billion.
- In the future, the collected taxes and revenues from health harming products should be earmarked in accordance with international models at least 2 per cent for the prevention of substance use disorder and gambling problems, so that resourcing meets the real need.
- The tax reduction on beer must be cancelled because it undermines the objectives of health promotion and disease prevention and conflicts with public health recommendations.
- The tax on nicotine pouches must be increased. This will help prevent the spread of products, especially among young people.
- The nicotine limit for nicotine bags must be lowered to 4 milligrams, banned flavors and raise the age of purchase of tobacco and nicotine products to 20 years.
A Clear Path Forward
EHYT’s proposals offer a clear and realistic pathway to promote people’s health and protect Finnish communities from avoidable harms.
EHYT’s proposals for improved taxation, proper investment in prevention, and policies that prioritise people’s health over commercial interests come at a critical time in Finland. As a committed member of Movendi International, EHYT continues to amplify the voice of people, communities, and civil society, calling on Finland’s government to act responsibly and implement evidence-based reforms in taxation, prevention, and health promotion.