A majority of Finnish MPs who responded to an Yle survey said they would be in favour of changing legislation to allow grocery stores to sell wine.
The question posed to lawmakers by Yle was "should grocery stores also be allowed to sell wines", with 69 out of 131 MPs saying "yes".
Support for such a move was especially strong among members of opposition parties, with a large majority of both Finns Party and National Coalition Party (NCP) MPs saying they were in favour.
However, all three of the opposition Christian Democrat MPs that responded to the survey were opposed to the suggestion.
Christian Democrat MP Peter Östman told Yle that the party's policy on the issue has been clear for a long time.
"Control works much better in Alko outlets. If this were to be opened up now, wine would be available in as many as five thousand outlets instead of the current 350 or so. Consumption would increase," Östman said.
Finland's Alcohol Act was most recently reformed in 2018, when the revised law raised the maximum alcohol content of drinks sold in grocery stores from 4.7 percent to 5.5 percent by volume, and also allowed the sale of mixed drinks made from spirits in grocery stores.
This legislative change did not lead to an increase in alcohol consumption as much as had been feared, with the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health, Valvira, reporting in 2020 that sales rose by just 0.1 percent in 2018 and then declined by two percent in 2019.
However, alcohol-related deaths did increase following the 2018 reform, with public health authority THL attributing this rise to heavy drinkers consuming even more.
NCP want change during next governmental term
In contrast to the Christian Democrats, most National Coalition Party MP respondents said they would support a law change allowing wine sales in grocery stores.
Nearly all, 26 out of 27, NCP respondents replied 'yes' to the question.
NCP MP Ville Kaunisto told Yle that he hopes such a reform can be made within the next parliamentary term.
"I consider Finnish people to be responsible alcohol consumers. It would be quite natural for wines to be in grocery stores. It would give a little freedom and responsibility to the people themselves," Kaunisto said.
A majority of Finns Party MPs also said they would allow the sale of wine in grocery stores, with 23 of the NCP's parliamentarian respondents expressing support for a law change.
Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Juho Eerola (Finns) said the sale of wine in grocery stores is an important issue.
"Stores with an Alko next to them have an unfair advantage when people go shopping there," Eerola said.
Among the smaller opposition parties within parliament, Movement Now as well as the two one-man parliamentary groups formed by both Wille Rydman and Ano Turtiainen were also in favour of the law change.
Divisions within government parties
Although some parties have a very clear line on the subject, Yle's survey also highlighted divisions within others — especially among current government parties.
Among Centre Party MPs, for example, 12 respondents were against the proposal while seven were in favour.
MP Anu Vehviläinen (Cen) said she would be particularly concerned about the effects of increased availability of alcohol on people with existing substance abuse problems.
There was also division within the Green Party, with four MPs responding favourably to the proposal while seven of their party colleagues were against.
Saara Hyrkkö (Green) told Yle that alcohol-related illnesses are a major public health problem that Finland cannot afford to make worse.
"Bringing wines into grocery stores would probably lead to the dismantling of the Alko monopoly. It would also mean increased availability of spirits and thus increased alcohol-related harm," Hyrkkö said.
Meanwhile, a majority of respondents from Prime Minister Sanna Marin's Social Democratic Party (SDP) were opposed to the idea of selling wine in grocery stores.
SDP MP Heidi Viljanen acknowledged that there are economic arguments in favour of such a move, but in her opinion the disadvantages would outweigh the benefits.
"Alcohol remains the drug that causes the most social and human harm. As someone who has worked in substance abuse for a long time and seen the world around me, I feel that the health harms outweigh the benefits in this case," Viljanen said.
Yle's canvassing of MPs was conducted between 19 and 25 January, with a total of 131 MPs responding to the survey.
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