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Finland alarmed at rising alcohol-related deaths

02 Nov 2006 15:47:50 GMT
Source: Reuters

HELSINKI, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Finnish authorities expressed alarm on Thursday at figures showing alcohol to be the leading killer of men in Finland and the second most common cause of death in women.

Ismo Tuominen, ministerial adviser in the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, said alcohol-related deaths had been increasing since the 1960s but showed a particularly sharp rise in the last two years.

He said there was no question why: in 2004 Finland cut its taxes on alcohol and Estonia joined the EU, allowing Finns to pop across the Baltic Sea to buy liquor at much lower prices.

National statistics show about 2,000 people died in Finland of alcohol-related diseases and poisonings in 2005, out of a population of about 5.3 million.

Drinking has overtaken heart disease as the main cause of death among Finnish men; for women it is second only to breast cancer, according to the figures released this week.

"The latest news has been the most horrifying of all," Tuominen said. "As a whole, we have liberalised sales of alcohol, but haven't progressed with the social dimension of alcohol."

Apart from alcohol-related illness, drinking contributed to accidents and played a role in Finland's high rate of suicides.

Pia Makela, a senior researcher at Finland's national health research agency Stakes, said the government was trying to fight increased alcohol consumption through a series of small steps.

"There is a proposal for warning labels on bottles, like for cigarettes, some new restrictions in marketing and advertising, reducing the hours for alcohol sales, and most important, increasing the minimum price of a bottle of beer," she said.

But Makela said possibly the most effective step would be an increase in the tax on alcohol, a proposal under discussion by Finland's political parties.

"We cannot go back to the old tax level, I don't think anyone is in favour of that. I think now people are talking about small tax raises, like about 10 percent," she said, adding that too drastic an increase would simply drive up imports from Estonia, and perhaps also more illegal manufacture.

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Last updated:Thu Nov 2 15:49:58 2006