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February 12, 2012
Swedes drinking more smuggled liquor
Published: 8 Sep 09 08:19 CET | Double click on a word to get a translation
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/21938/20090908/
Swedes are buying less beer abroad, but are consuming twice as much smuggled liquor compared to the first half of 2008, according to a new report from the Centre for Social Research on Alcohol and Drugs (Centrum för socialvetenskaplig alkohol- och drogforskning – SoRAD) at Stockholm University.
- Young men at greater risk for alcohol dependence (7 Sep 09)
- Sales up at Swedish state liquor stores (14 Aug 09)
- 'Drinking while pregnant harms the child': study (10 Aug 09)
In addition, while the Swedish Alcohol Retail Monopoly (Systembolaget) reported record sales, overall alcohol consumption in Sweden didn't increase in the first six months of 2009 due to the decrease in travel-related imports.
According to SoRAD, Swedes drank an average of three deciliters of smuggled alcohol each during the first half of 2009.
In the first half of 2009, Systembolaget sold 60 percent of the alcohol consumed in Sweden, while imports and smuggling accounted for 13 and 8 percent, respectively.
SoRAD's report is based on information from 1,500 people who answered questions about their alcohol consumption.
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Fin means anyhting from sweet to proper. When someone says, Du är så fin it's quite a compliment.
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My real gripe is the terrible opening hours and the effect it has on Swedish people. The very unscientific poll I conduct suggests that most Swedes don't keep more than a bottle of wine in their houses. It doesn't bode well for spontaneous parties!!!!!
I find your comments about Swedish people in this and other topics a bit offensive but that`s alright. The fact that someone does not jump in excitement every time they are asked pointless questions like: "How are you?"(at least 25 times a day) , "How was your weekend" or even the entirely meaningless "Did you sleep well?" does not say anything about their communication skills or how interesting they are as people. You have to understand that some people unlike others are not conditioned from their early age to be uncomfortable with silence. I personally cannot imagine something more boring than a chatterbox who talks about random things like the weather and football just because they start feeling uncomfortable if they do not talk for more than 10 seconds (ever met any?). You may think Swedish are boring and you are entitled to your opinion but please do bear in mind that maybe some nations were not born to entertain you.
Just a small correction: in the US you cannot buy booze in the supermarkets, with the exception of wine and weaker beers. Like Sweden, you have to go to a Liquor Store. Opening hours there vary according to State. Try buying any beverage with a slight hint of alcohol in Utah during the weekend. It's impossible.
Spread the love people.
Just to correct you, in MOST (90%) of the US, you can walk into any liquor store and buy anything you please. There are some areas that have state controlled liqour companies/stores like Pennsylvania, and some states sell low (3.5%) beer (Minnesota/Colorado). Colorado you can't buy liquor in supermarkets, but you can get it at the adjacent bottleshop no problem at any time. There are some rural counties in Texas and in the south that are "dry" that don't sell alcohol. Lynchburg, Tennessee, home of Jack Daniels is in a notorious dry county. And some places you can't buy till noon on Sunday. They are referred to as "Blue Laws" if you want to research more.
Laws vary state to state, but in general, you can buy about anything, about anywhere at about anytime with no restriction.
My gripe about the Green Sign is that it doesn't prevent alcoholism, it's original purpose. It makes it worse. How? Because when the Swedes do get a bottle of Koskenkorva, they act like they stole it, or got away with something, and they go into "child mode", which supports your sterotypical "drunk swede" behavior. Not to mention, the VAT+monopoly+limited store availablity simply drives a black market and promotes smuggling while collecting progressively less tax revenue.
If Sweden were serious about lifting the restrictions, and about smuggling, they need to find the breakpoint where they are collecting the maximum amount of tax vs. supporting a extensive smuggling trend and regulate it from there.
SB is open 6 days a week - usually 10am until 6pm or 2pm Saturday (many places have at least one later evening as well where they stay open until 7 or 8pm)
Is this such a huge problem?
Think about all the taxes that could be raised, say, on marijuana sales - pipe a bit of electricity to hydroponic growing factories in Umeå and Bob's the uncle - Sweden raises GDP by 10% on marijuana exports and raises 7% on internal taxation:-) (and it gives the poor folks of Umeå something to be happy about!)
You can buy booze in supermarkets in some states in the US. Unless, Hannaford's is not a supermarket and Scotch is not booze. (purchased in Maine, three weeks ago) Making blanket generalizations about the 50 states of the US is bound to get you in trouble. There are federal laws and there are state laws. "State" run or licensed liquor stores are mandated by each individual state.
The systembolaget is interesting because I don't think it's as expensive as I was lead to believe and I think it offers a fairly decent range of beers and wine. However, it closes at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon. Yes I did say 3pm on a saturday afternoon. So talk about dark ages.... no wonder there are 'alcohol fixers' or whtever you call them. I've been here for only 2 months and I've already been introduced to two in case of emergency!
Now, enough of that, what about politeness???
Well I can agree with some comments here and to get a 'thankyou' is more difficult than in much of Europe. To get a random 'hello' whilst out walking is near impossible. To get invited around a Swedish household for dinner as a foreigner.... I can only judge on my own experience and say what a welcoming bunch of hosts the Swedes are. I maybe live in a more welcoming area or more likely, I make an effort to mix in, I don't know which but maybe it's more up to us as immigrants to focus our minds on the way things are here, not at home?
Cheers!