Systembolaget

Systembolaget is the state monopoly of liquor stores in Sweden. Systembolaget establishments are the only retail stores that can sell alcoholic beverages containing an alcohol percentage higher than 3.5%. Systembolaget also sells non-alcoholic drinks. To be able to buy alcoholic beverages at Systembolaget you must be 20 years or older. Additionally, there are various laws and regulations that govern how Systembolaget stores operate, including:

• All products, including beer cans and bottles, are sold individually. It is not possible to buy boxes or packages of six.
• All sales and discounts, including "Buy 1, and take 1 free" or "One can 1.50, two cans 2.50" are prohibited
• No product can be favored, which means, for example, that either all beers are chilled, or none (in practice it is the second option).

History

In 1766, King Adolf Frederick of Sweden decided to abolish, after several unsuccessful attempts to regulate high alcohol consumption, all restrictions on consumption. This led to virtually every household manufacturing and selling alcohol. At the beginning of the 19th century, average consumption in Sweden was 45 liters of pure alcohol per year. The high rate of alcohol consumption became a huge public health problem.

In 1830 the first temperance promotion associations emerged in Stockholm. A few decades later, the first complete pro-sobriety organization. The profit obtained from the private production of alcohol was severely criticized by these groups, and this opinion was embraced by doctors and members of the Church. In 1850, alcohol began to be regulated by the state. In the city of Falun, a state organization was opened whose objective was to regulate all alcohol sales in the city and ensure that the sale was carried out responsibly. In 1860, a bar was opened in Gothenburg where the state had manually selected the employees and decided how it should operate. Quarrelsome or drunk customers had to be expelled. This was where people bought and drank their alcohol. That same year, it was made illegal to sell alcohol to people under 18 years of age. Similarly state-regulated bars and stores began opening in other cities across the country, and were enormously successful. The profits were originally kept by the store and bar owners, but in 1870 the state decided that all profits should go to the state.

During World War I, alcohol was severely rationed. State-run stores and bars began recording purchases. Citizens had a quota of two liters of liquor every three months, and beer was prohibited. However, after the war, rationing continued. Sex, income, wealth and social class determined how much alcohol could be purchased. Neither the unemployed nor married women could buy any amount of alcohol. For all these reasons, the rationing system was not popular at all. When even the sobriety societies protested against it (they felt that rationing encouraged consumption), the government decided that a new policy was necessary. In 1955 the rationing system was abolished, and people were allowed to start buying as much alcohol as they wanted in Systembolaget stores. This led to increased consumption, so the government sharply increased taxes on alcohol and enacted a law requiring identification to be purchased. In 1965, privately owned stores were allowed to sell beer up to 4.9% alcohol, with an age limit of 18. This lasted for twelve years, until 1978. After the consumption of alcohol, especially beer, light, rose drastically, the limit was placed at 3.5%.

Modern history

After Sweden entered the European Union in 1995, there have been several liberalizations in the alcohol market. Bars and restaurants with a license to sell alcohol can now buy it from private companies, as well as sell alcohol they have imported. Bar owners with an alcohol license can also sell alcohol to each other. In 2004, alcohol import quotas were lifted, and private citizens can now import as much alcohol as they wish, as long as it is for 'private consumption'. The clash between Sweden's restrictive laws and the EU's liberal laws has proven to be a huge problem, or a huge improvement, depending on personal opinion.

The fact that Sweden applied high taxes on alcohol, together with the fact that other EU countries have much lower taxes, and the absence of import quotas, has led to the importation of enormous quantities of alcohol. A recent study showed that only 30% of the alcohol consumed in Sweden is purchased from Systembolaget. A very large and lucrative black market has also been created. Alcohol is sold illegally under the counter in convenience stores, in people's apartments, and many people who sell alcohol illegally even provide home delivery. The black market in alcohol has become common, and it is regularly reported that virtually every person in Sweden, including young teenagers, has "an acquaintance" from whom they can buy alcohol. Because of this, many people consider Systembolaget to be an idea that no longer works and creates more problems than solutions. Several major political parties are proposing its abolition and replacement with a more liberal system in which alcohol is sold in any shop that wishes to do so.