Alcohol, Analytics, Estonia, Health, Markets and Companies

According to the same data, published in the yearbook titled "Alcohol market, consumption and harms in Estonia 2017," 11.1 liters of absolute alcohol was consumed per adult resident in Estonia in 2014 and 10.5 liters in 2015.

In addition, a reduction has continued in the ratio of people who drink strong alcohol. As much as 88% of the people interviewed for the survey by the Institute of Economic Research said that they drink no vodka at all or do it on a couple of occasions per year at most. In a similar survey in 2008 the ratio of such responses was 67%.

According to the survey, almost three in four residents of Estonia are in favor of a ban on alcohol advertising on the streets. More than half of the respondents were in favor of banning ads of strong alcohol and low-alcohol beverages alike on the radio, on television, on the internet and in newspapers and magazines.

Residents of Estonia find driving under the influence to be the most serious of the problems related to the consumption of alcohol, with 94% of respondents rating it as a serious or very serious problem. Next on the list were breach of public order, domestic violence, alcohol consumption by minors and young people, and health problems caused by alcohol, in that order.

The director of the Institute of Economic Research, Marje Josing, said it is positive that alcohol consumption per resident in Estonia dropped for the fourth year running. "At the same time -- those who reduce consumption are primarily the ones who were moderate consumers also earlier," Josing said, listing price increases resulting from higher excise duty and changing attitudes as the main reasons behind the drop in consumption. "People attach ever greater value to healthy lifestyles and wish to spend their leisure time without alcohol. A danger is posed by more favorably priced cross-border purchases in Latvia, which may start increasing consumption again."

According to Josing, in order to further reduce the consumption of alcohol, Estonia should increasingly take into use also other measures besides increases in the excise duty, such as restrictions on advertising, better explaining, reducing alcohol sales at public events and better supervision over observance of the ban to sell alcohol to minors.

The yearbook "Alcohol market, consumption and harms in Estonia 2017" was drawn up by the Institute of Economic Research on behalf of the National Institute for Health Development.