Leena Metso

The beverage alcohol concentration at intake and estimated blood alcohol concentrations

Belief in differential health risks for different alcoholic beverages continues despite a relative lack of supporting evidence, and continues to influence alcohol policy debate both in Finland and elsewhere. The present data from a survey of Finnish drinking habits conducted in 1992 suggest that the central issue is not the actual strength of the beverage itself but rather the solution at intake and the amount of alcohol imbibed. The results are based on a one week survey of all occasions on which alcohol was consumed from a general population survey of drinking habits. Spirits are diluted almost two times out of three when spirits are taken. The data indicate that the median alcohol content of spirits at intake was about 13 percent of volume: i.e. on half of the occasions when spirits were imbibed, the actual alcohol content was not higher than that of unfortified wines. Beer and wine were rarely diluted, white spirits and rum were almost always diluted, whereas cognac and liqueurs were taken unmixed. The data also provide a basis for estimating the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) reached on each drinking occasion. There was hardly any correlation between the BAC and the actual alcohol concentration of the beverages imbibed. More detailed analyses showed mixed results. Drinking to intoxication (estimated BAC < 20 mM) was more likely with those spirits that are typically diluted than those drunk straight, but a higher percentage of the spirit intake in general occurred on such intoxicating occasions than was reported for other beverages. Older respondents reported that the primary beverage used when drinking to intoxication was spirits, but younger ones said beer. The results are only for Finland, but show little basis here for the traditional tripartite (beer, wine, spirits) division of beverages in prevention of alcohol-related harm.

Cannabis use in Finland in the 1990s: An Overview of Adult Populations Survey Results

Since 1992 six surveys have been carried out in Finland on the use of drugs by the general adult population. The samples of these studies have been drawn from the central population register, excluding people in institutions or without a permanent address. They seem to be fairly representative, but the methods of data collection have varied. Four of the studies used questionnaires, but telephone and face-to-face interviews have also been used. The response rates vary, partly because of the method of data collection. Therefore the results of these studies are not directly comparable. The article summarizes the results of these studies concerning lifetime prevalence of cannabis use among men, women, and young adults (18–29 years). Using a simple mathematical model, it answers the following questions: 1) has the use of cannabis become more common? 2) To what extent have the differences in data collection methods and response rates affected the results? The results of the analysis indicate that 1) in 1992–1996 the annual relative increase in the prevalence of cannabis use has been 9 per cent for men, 4 per cent for women, and 11 per cent for young adults; 2) in comparison with the results of mail surveys, telephone and face-to-face interviews yield considerably lower figures, especially among women; and 3) an increase of one percentage point in the response rate raises the prevalence figure by 3 per cent. Although these results are based on fairly large samples and are consistent with previous studies, it should be noted that the estimates are essentially based on the results of one particular study. Therefore some doubts remain about their generalizability.

The finnish drinking habits during the 1990s

Three nationwide surveys from the years 1992, 1993, and 1996 were used to study whether basic features of Finnish drinking habits changed in the 1990s. Two factors that might have produced changes are the deep economic depression since 1991 and Finlands EU membership since 1995. The effects of the depression were visible in a decline in overall alcohol consumption after 1991, which recovered to the earlier level by 1996. The effects of EU membership involved, among many other things, certain administrative structures of the Finnish alcohol monopoly system. However, basic features of drinking patterns, like abstinence, drinking frequency, frequency of binge drinking, and the distribution of alcohol consumption, have remained untouched by those external changes. This can be taken as further evidence that drinking patterns typically change very slowly.