Swedes drink less and less alcohol while at the same time the Swedish Alcohol Retail Monopoly's salesare rising and statistics from Statistics Sweden show that alcohol consumption is on the increase. Thishas been the trend for a long period of time. Statistics from the Centre for Social Research on Alcoholand Drugs, SoRAD, show that alcohol consumption fell continuously in the period from 2004 to 2009,whereas the Swedish Alcohol Retail Monopoly's sales rose by 22% over the same period. The SwedishAlcohol Retail Monopoly's sales rose by 10% from 2008 to 2009, whereas statistics from SoRAD showthat, over the same period, Swedes' consumption of alcohol fell. How is this possible?
According to Mats Ramstedt, a researcher at SoRAD, it is due to the fact that Swedes consume lessand less alcohol from abroad. SoRAD has also included purchases abroad through legal imports,internet orders and smuggled spirits in its statistics.
"In order to get a true picture of how much alcohol Swedish people drink it is important to takethe whole alcohol market into consideration", says Mats Ramstedt, docent at the Centre for SocialResearch on Alcohol and Drugs at Stockholm University.
SoRAD's research takes into account both legal and illegal imports and internet purchases. SoRADinterviews 18,000 people a year on their alcohol consumption, while Statistics Sweden, for example,carries out research involving around 2,000 people to establish Hushållens utgifter (HUT) [HouseholdExpenditure], which includes alcoholic beverages as an area of consumption.
More in the Consumption Report 2010
- The Consumption Report 2010 is based on statistics from 2009 and includes comparisons with 2008and 1999 to provide a view of developments over time. The Consumption Report 2010 is compiled byJohn Magnus Roos, PhD.
- The areas of consumption that have seen sharp rises compared to 2008 are: health and hospitalservices – 6%, alcohol and tobacco – 5%, and purchases by non-resident households in Sweden –5%.
- The areas of consumption that saw the largest rises between 1999 and 2009 are: communicationservices – 132 %, purchases by non-resident households in Sweden – 104 %, furnishings, householdequipment and routine maintenance of the house – 76 %, leisure time and culture – 66%, andclothing and footwear – 53%.
- The area of consumption that has seen the largest fall since 2008 is Swedish households' purchasesabroad – 14%.
- Besides alcohol consumption, the Consumption Report 2010 contains analyses on the rise in Swedishhouseholds' expenditure on electricity and consumables.
Source: University of Gothenburg