Norway and Alcohol
I find Scandinavians supremely pragmatic, something that is manifested through classical minimal Scandinavian design as well as through their honed languages, such as Norwegian (distilled from Danish which is distilled from a bit of a potpourri of German and English). Sometimes at odds with this pragmatism is the deep social democratic ideology, which can sometimes result in a bit of a “nanny state”.
Take, for example, the price of alcohol in Norway. In an effort to stop the masses from being too overly festive, the government slaps an incredibly high tax on alcohol, and restricts its sale quite dramatically. For example, a bottle of Absolut vodka might retail for the equivalent of €37, €31 of which is pure tax. As such, locals resort to workarounds. People load up the car with booze in Sweden, or travel even further a field, and bring it back. People make moonshine. People buy drinks from a liquor store (a bit cheaper than buying drinks out), and get completely tanked before going out late at night. It seems that the status quo is some level of avoidance of the tax man. The very best gift a visitor to Norway can bring their Norwegian hosts is a fine alcoholic beverage.
| Country | Average price for a bottle of spirits (€) |
|---|---|
| Germany | 4.0 |
| Estonia | 5.57 |
| Denmark | 10.75 |
| Finland | 20.09 |
| Sweden | 21.54 |
| Iceland | 28.37 |
| Norway | 39.01 |
Source: Free Europe
It is worth noting that levels of consumption and alcohol-related illness in Scandinavian countries is quite a bit lower than elsewhere, so the tax rates certainly have an effect.
At TLA for example, we have a few events to take the edge of things, such as ‘‘lønningspils’‘ (pay-day drinks), a weekly wine raffle, and what appear to be monthly, generously-boozed social events. Ultimately however, it’s not worth dwelling too much on the cost of living here – ranked highest in the world last year – and just suck it up.
Abstaining from alcohol helps too.
10. February 2008
Comments
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How do the prices compare to Australia?
You poor bugger. I’m still enjoying buying Australia beer for half the price that I did back home.
— Tim · Mar 1, 06:34 · #
Well, a bottle of Absolut is about AUD$40 in Australia. Bought in Norway, it’d be around AUD$64, or AUD$28 from duty free at Amsterdam Schipol as of today :)
For beer, a pint of Guinness in an average downtown pub AUD$14.
— Clint · Mar 4, 21:05 · #
Wow, you poor bugger. :(
— Tim · Mar 13, 08:49 · #