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Long‐term trends in alcohol policy attitudes in N orway
Author(s) -
Rossow Ingeborg,
Storvoll Elisabet E.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
drug and alcohol review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.018
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1465-3362
pISSN - 0959-5236
DOI - 10.1111/dar.12098
Subject(s) - monopoly , harm , norwegian , population , control (management) , public economics , public policy , public opinion , demographic economics , business , economics , environmental health , political science , medicine , economic growth , microeconomics , politics , law , linguistics , philosophy , management
Abstract Introduction and Aims The aim of this study was to describe trends in attitudes to alcohol control policies in N orway over a period of 50 years and to discuss how these trends relate to developments in alcohol policy. Design and Methods Survey data from 17 national population surveys, national statistics and previous publications were applied to describe trends in attitudes to alcohol control polices (access to alcohol and price) and changes in these policies over the period 1962 to 2012. Results From 1962 to 1999, an increasing proportion of the population reported that regulations on availability of alcohol were too strict and that alcohol prices were too high, whereas in the 2000s this trend was reversed and support for existing control policies increased. Although the pillars of N orwegian alcohol policy—high prices, restricted access and a state monopoly on retail sales—remained, control policies were gradually relaxed throughout the entire period. Discussion and Conclusions Relaxation of strict alcohol control policies in N orway in the first four decades were probably, in part, the result of increasingly liberal public opinion. The subsequent reversed trend in opinions with increasing support for control policies may be due to several factors, for example, consumer‐oriented changes in the monopoly system, increased availability and affordability, increased awareness of alcohol‐related harm and the effectiveness of control policies. Thus, the dynamics of policies and attitudes may well change over time. [Rossow I, Storvoll E E. Long‐term trends in alcohol policy attitudes in Norway. Drug Alcohol Rev 2014;33:220–226]