Alcohol monopoly

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An alcohol monopoly is a government monopoly on some or all alcoholic beverages, such as beer, wine and spirits. It can be used as an alternative for total prohibition. They exist in all Nordic countries except Denmark, and in all provinces and territories in Canada, bar Alberta which privatized its monopoly in 1993. In the United States there are some alcoholic beverage control states, where alcohol sales are controlled by either private retailers or like in Pennsylvania, a government operation.

Examples of alcohol monopolies are namely Systembolaget in Sweden, Alko in Finland, Vínbúð on Iceland and Vinmonopolet in Norway.

[edit] History

The alcohol monopoly was created in the Swedish town of Falun in 1850, to prevent overconsumption and reduce the profit motive for sales of alcohol. It later went all over the country in 1905 when the Swedish parliament demanded all sales of vodka to done via local alcohol monopolies. ^[1]

[edit] References