State Sets Alcohol Consumption Target to Eight Liters
Estonia should set a target to decrease its alcohol consumption to eight liters per person annually, asserted the National Institute for Health, an agency of the Ministry of Social Affairs.
In conjunction with the Institute of Economic Research, the agency released a report November 8 on the economic and health impacts of alcohol consumption in Estonia. The day also marks a start of a new state-funded alcohol awareness campaign named “Terviseks,” the Estonia expression for “to health,” as in a toast to someone’s health. The institute launched its first anti-alcohol campaign last year.
The director of the Health Institute, Maris Jesse, told ETV that officials weren’t willing to specify that target a year ago. Jesse said declining consumption in the last two years was due to rising taxes for alcohol.
At the presentation of the report, the director of the Institute of Economic Research Marje Josing proposed reducing the alcohol volume of beverages like beer and cider, popular among the younger consumers, as another way of lowering the consumption levels.
In Estonia, beers and ciders are on the average much stronger than in Scandinavia, Josing noted.
