Jenny Cisneros Örnberg

Contextual Determinants of Alcohol Consumption Changes and Preventive Alcohol Policies: A 12-Country European Study in Progress

Beginning with France in the 1950s, alcohol consumption has decreased in Southern European countries with few or no preventive alcohol policy measures being implemented, while alcohol consumption has been increasing in Northern European countries where historically more restrictive alcohol control policies were in place, even though more recently they were loosened. At the same time, Central and Eastern Europe have shown an intermediate behavior. We propose that country-specific changes in alcohol consumption between 1960 and are explained by a combination of a number of factors: (1) preventive alcohol policies and (2) social, cultural, economic, and demographic determinants. This article describes the methodology of a research study designed to understand the complex interactions that have occurred throughout Europe over the past five decades. These include changes in alcohol consumption, drinking patterns and alcohol-related harm, and the actual determinants of such changes.

Mission(s) impossible? Configuring values in the governance of state-owned enterprises

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to theory of hybrid organizations, with particular regard to state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and their ability to contribute to sustaining value ...

The Europeanization of Swedish alcohol policy - the case of ECAS

The recent changes in Swedish alcohol policy have mainly been described by researchers and politicians in terms of a Swedish implementation of EU rules. The European Comparative Alcohol Study (ECAS), however, shows the complexity of Europeanization and can function as an example of the possibilities for the reverse influence. The project was an initiative by the Swedish Ministry of Health and Social Affairs and was presented as a comparative study that could serve as a basis for further discussions about common measures in European alcohol policy. The article analyses how ECAS has been perceived and used politically at national and EU levels. The results show that ECAS was the first attempt from Sweden and Finland to influence EU on the alcohol question, and the expressed political purpose mainly focused on the possibilities to work internationally. The article indicates that ECAS has been quite influential within the research community and within the public health frame. However, the impact within other frames has been more or less limited to the slow process of moulding public opinion.

Impacts of Tourism on Drinking and Alcohol Policy in Low-And Middle-Income Countries: A Selective Thematic Review

The article considers impacts of the drinking patterns of tourists from high-consumption, high-income societies on low- and middle-income societies, thematically reviewing a rather sparse literature. Drinking — indeed, drinking more than at home — fits well into the context of tourism. Heavy drinking by tourists has a substantial impact on many elements in the host society, increasing consumption levels particularly among young people working within the tourism sector. Tourist industry interests have often successfully argued for policies that result in a wider general availability of alcohol in the society, and provision for tourists has often served as an entry point in the society for the global alcohol industry. National and international consideration of policies to reduce alcohol problems should take into consideration the potential adverse influences on national alcohol policies arising from tourism.

Escaping deadlock – alcohol policy-making in the EU

Despite the cultural and ideological diversity of the member states when it comes to alcohol, several alcohol-related initiatives have been taken recently at the EU level. The purpose of this article is to analyse the development of two of these initiatives: the Council Recommendation of 5 June 2001 on the drinking of alcohol by young people, and the invitation from the Council to the Commission to develop a Community Alcohol Strategy, both adopted during the Swedish Presidency in 2001. Drawing from Héritiers work on escaping deadlock it is argued that EU decisions on alcohol policy were made possible by using four strategies: priority, anchorage, lowest common denominator and baby steps. In cases of weak EU supranational competence the possibilities of escaping deadlock differ somewhat from cases of strong legislative competence and the strategies of priority and anchorage seem to be of particular importance for questions based on soft law decision-making.

A solitary case: Swedish tobacco policy as harm reduction?

Purpose – This paper aims to analyse Swedish tobacco policy, especially in relation to EU tobacco regulation. The paper also seeks to review the arguments and the scientific support presented in the debate around Swedish snus, setting it in the context of future EU regulation on tobacco.Design/methodology/approach – The article draws on previous research, official documents and newspaper articles to examine tobacco policy development on a national and EU level.Findings – The paper shows that the so‐called Swedish experience has led to a somewhat ambivalent political attitude towards tobacco policy. The Swedish case of snus also demonstrates the EU as a political and regulatory force in national policymaking and how different economic and political interests are using scientifically based arguments to advance goals of their own. The paper argues that political measures are dictated by ideology and political considerations, which are themselves supported by ambiguous scientific results. Harm reduction is us...

Gambling policy studies: a field that is growing in size and complexity

Gambling policies take a variety of forms, and are concerned with many different kinds of gambling activities and situations. There is a growing need to produce knowledge about and govern specific forms of gambling. At the same time, gambling and adherent policies are becoming more global to their character. These trends are occasioned by multiple factors including a globalized economy; the rapid global growth of gambling industries; internet-based gambling and marketing; and, a need to study and act on issues that increasingly transcend national borders. In order to answer to crosspressures, gambling policies must take a ‘particular, yet global’ character. Increased rates of problem gambling and gambling harms have shown to be linked to the policies of governments. Despite evidence of correlation between availability and harm, many jurisdictions have increased both the availability and promotion of gambling. Almost all jurisdictions have some sort of interest in or dependency on the profit from gambling (Leitzel 2014; Dadayan 2016). Levels of harms correlate not only with level of regulation, but also tend to vary according to a logic underpinning the systemic balance between stakeholder revenues, on the one hand, and gambling-related societal costs, on the other. In view of the complex circumstances presented above, it has become clear that there is a great need for more research on gambling policy and governance as well as studies of the effects of different strategies and interventions. However, these are not the primary objects for the growing literature on gambling issues – rather, individualised cognitive and epidemiological endeavours still dominate this research field (Young 2013). The initiative for this special issue of Addiction, Research and Theory arose from a growing awareness of such a need for a (possibly novel) collection of research focused on gambling policies. Systematic policy studies are under-represented, and thus far they have mostly described cases of collisions between various stakeholders’ interests. Gambling studies, especially those with any policy relevance, have largely emerged from the Anglosphere, and there is a lack of regional research. As with the lack of focus on systematic studies of policy, the editors seek to encourage this to change. Gambling policy – in its broadest sense – is an area that is homogeneous and poorly nuanced. Our aim with this special edition has been to gather studies from different parts of the world, and from a broad repertoire of perspectives, with a common focus on system and policy. Consumer protection, and the legitimation of gambling

Sweden, the EU and the Alcohol Traveller's Allowances

Restrictive alcohol policies have a long history at the national level in Sweden; however, with the accession to the European Union, the international component of alcohol policy has become clearer, and the national policies have been eroded. Sweden had to abandon low travellers allowances and gradually adopt the considerably higher European levels by January 1, 2004. On the EU level the travellers allowances were an issue long before Swedens accession, and high allowances were a conscious way of forcing down high taxes as an instrument of harmonization. The purpose of the article is to analyze how the changes and the Swedish governments actions on the travellers allowances issue have been understood. Analyzing this case contributes to understanding the major changes that have occurred in Swedish alcohol policy since the mid-1990s. Different narratives from interviews, official documents, and news articles make it possible to understand alcohol policy developments in Sweden in relation to the EU. The article finds that there are five main narratives which have been used to try to explain the development of the travellers allowances question: the misinterpretation explanation, the double accounts explanation, the impotence explanation, the humility explanation, and the optimism explanation. The article also shows that the different narratives have developed over time, indicating a learning process among Swedish authorities on the functioning of EU policy processes.

The Future Swedish Gambling Market: Challenges in Law and Public Policies

Swedish gambling regulation has been questioned from an EU law perspective. While no changes have yet taken place, a reform proposal has during 2017 been submitted and the Government has in April 2018 passed a bill to Parliament based on that proposal. The new Swedish Gambling Act shall be based on a licensing system: anyone who wants to act in the Swedish gambling market must have a designated licence. The proposal underlines that the negative consequences of gambling should be limited and that extensive consumer protection calls for curbs on marketing. This chapter will discuss different aspects of gambling regulation in Sweden, especially in the light of EU law. Particular attention will be paid to the legal scope for reform, differences in taxation including the position held by public interest non-profit organisations, marketing and consumer protection.