The Validity of Political Arguments in the Norwegian Alcohol Policy Debate: Associations between Availability of Liquor and Consumption of Illegal Spirits

Abstract

Unrecorded alcohol consumption in Norway contributes to around 25% of total consumption, and a large part of this consists of moonshine and smuggled spirits. It has been argued that this is due to the restrictive price and availability measures in Norwegian alcohol policy. At the aggregate level, a significant increase in smuggled spirits has been found concurrent with an increase in liquor outlets. This paper presents individual level analyses based on five national surveys over a two-decade period, from 1973 to 1994, and assesses whether liquor outlet availability has an impact on consumption of and demand for illegal spirits in Norway. It is demonstrated that self-reported consumption of moonshine has decreased over the years, whereas purchase ofsmuggled spirits has increased significantly. Consumption ofmoonshine was more prevalent in municipalities without liquor outlets, where as purchase ofsmuggled spirits and willingness to purchase illegal spirits did not depend on liquor outlet availability.