Public Discourse on Alcohol Policy and Tobacco Policy in Finland

Abstract

The article looks at public opinion in Finland on alcohol use and smoking and at people's views on strategies of intervention. The most common discourse in public debate on alcohol policy and tobacco policy underscores the importance of popular education. It is believed that significant and sustainable progress can only be achieved by providing information on the adverse effects of alcohol in terms of health risks and related social and cultural factors. The popular education discourse is often linked up with criticisms of policies based on prohibition and restrictions. A restrictive policy tends to be seen as patronizing, as a form of health terror that in effect encourages adverse behaviours and in this way exacerbates the problems of drinking and smoking. This line of argumentation occurs where restrictions on the sale of alcohol are concerned. Restrictive policies on smoking, by contrast, are widely accepted: in this case restrictions are seen as providing protection against environmental tobacco smoke or passive smoking. Public discourses on alcohol policy and tobacco policy reflect an elitist tradition of popular education which shows concern for the health habits of the “common folk”, but they also reflect the values of modern society and the modern individual. It is felt that prohibitions and restrictions violate the consumer's freedom of choice and self-determination and hamper the progress of civilization. Popular education, by contrast, is thought to give individuals the freedom they need and deserve to make their own choices, to decide for themselves. These views are prominent in public discourses on alcohol policy because alcohol use is currently very much a symbol of freedom and modernity in Finland. Smoking, on the other hand, is regarded as old-fashioned and vulgar, it has lost its status as a symbol of freedom and self-control. This has meant a more favourable cultural climate for a restrictive tobacco policy.