Abstract
After a lengthy battle, Pietarsaari finally sanctioned the retail sale of medium strength beer in 1993. Since then, medium strength beer has been available not only at the State retail shops selling wines and spirits but also at various grocery shops in the area. This article explores changes in the alcohol consumption of 13–17 year-olds within one year of the liberalisation. A control group from the city of Porvoo was included in the study in order to discern the changes actually resulting from the sanctioning of retail sale from changes that were caused by more general social change. The Pietarsaari sample included all the young people attending schools: some 1,300 pupils both at the beginning of the study and in the final survey. As feared by those who had opposed the liberalisation, age limits were observed less strictly: more and more minors were able to purchase alcohol from the grocery shops. The year also saw a notable rise (from 30 % to 44 %) in the consumption of medium strength beer. The overall alcohol consumption in Finland did not increase, however; the change was purely structural in nature. Medium strength beer became the alcoholic beverage of choice for both girls and boys, even though girls had previously shown a preference for wines.
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