“Systembolaget to Young People: Talk About Alcohol With Your Elders”
Omni reports:
“Systembolaget has launched ‘Pappaparlören’ (The Dad Phrasebook), a campaign encouraging young people to discuss alcohol with older relatives during Easter. Karolina Dahlbeck Nobel, head of public health at Systembolaget, stated: ‘We think it can be a good opportunity when you meet across generational boundaries.’
“The campaign responds to significant epidemiological data: adults aged 65–84 now use alcohol 30% more than at the beginning of the 2000s, while alcohol use among those aged 17–29 has decreased significantly.”
Assessment
The generational shift in alcohol use – declining among young people, increasing among older adults – is a global trend, and Sweden’s data illustrates it clearly: a 30% increase among adults aged 65–84 over two decades, while use among 17–29-year-olds has fallen significantly.
Systembolaget – Sweden’s state-owned alcohol retail monopoly – responded by flipping its traditional messaging. Its earlier campaigns included “Tonårsparlören” (The Teenager Phrasebook), a guide helping parents talk to their children about alcohol. The new “Pappaparlören” (The Dad Phrasebook) reverses the direction entirely, giving young people conversation starters for raising alcohol use with older relatives. The shift in target audience reflects the shift in the data.