An alcohol monopoly is a government monopoly on manufacturing and/or retailing of some or all alcoholic beverages, such as beer, wine and spirits. It can be used as an alternative for total prohibition of alcohol. They exist in all Nordic countries except Denmark proper (only on the Faroe Islands), and in all provinces and territories in Canada except Alberta (which privatised its monopoly in 1993). In the United States, there are some alcoholic beverage control states, where alcohol wholesale is controlled by a state government operation and retail sales are offered by either state or private retailers.
An alcohol monopoly also existed in Taiwan between 1947 and 2002, which uniquely, did not actually serve as a form of reducing alcohol use, as was the case in the Nordic countries, Canada and the U.S., but was simply a continuation of the system established during Japanese rule of Taiwan. The Taiwanese market was gradually opened to overseas brands starting from 1987, with full liberalisation in 2002, the year when Taiwan was admitted to the WTO. [1]
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 ordered all sales of vodka to be done via local alcohol monopolies. [2] In 1894, the Russian Empire established a state monopoly on vodka, which became a major source of revenue for the Russian government.
Following the prohibition of alcohol in Norway in 1919, the wine-producing nations demanded a reflexive policy regarding the goods exported from Norway, and Vinmonopolet was established in 1922, as a response to a deal with France, which allowed Norwegians to buy as much table wine of any kind as they wanted. [3] When prohibition was lifted on fortified wine in 1923 and spirits in 1926, Vinmonopolet assumed sales of these goods as well. [3]
Unlike most of its Nordic neighbours, Denmark proper never had any period of alcohol prohibition or any state-owned alcohol monopoly, giving rise to its relatively liberal alcohol laws and drinking culture, however, the Faroe Islands, a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark, enacted alcohol prohibition in 1908 following a referendum held the previous year. Faroese people were however allowed to import very limited quantities of alcohol from Denmark proper for personal consumption after 1928, and after a referendum to lift prohibition in the Faroe Islands failed in 1973, the Faroe Islands finally lifted alcohol prohibition in 1992 with the establishment of the Rúsdrekkasøla Landsins alcohol monopoly that same year.
In Estonia, when the country was part of the Russian Empire, the abovementioned Russian Empire vodka monopoly was in place until 4 September 1914, when alcohol prohibition was enacted due to World War I. This prohibition lasted de facto until approximately 1917 and de jure until the end of World War I the following year. Alcohol prohibition was again enacted from 30 December 1918 until the spring of 1919 during Estonian War of Independence. As a result of social upheavals during said periods, the Estonian government, as an alternative to total prohibition, decided to institute the tšekisüsteem on 1 July 1920, which allowed individual municipalities to control the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages, while the capital city of Tallinn additionally also allowed 25 fine dining restaurants to sell alcohol. Estonia abolished the tšekisüsteem on 31 December 1925 and retail sales of all alcoholic beverages began the following day. [4]
In Latvia, similarly to Estonia, a government monopoly on the production of vodka (Latvian : valsts degvīna monopols) existed from 3 April 1920 until the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940. [5] From 1922 to 1930, the spirits monopoly ensured from 12.7% to 18.4% of state revenue. [6]
In the United Kingdom, the sale and distribution of alcohol in Carlisle, Gretna, Cromarty Firth and Enfield were nationalised as part of the State Management Scheme in order to reduce drunkenness for workers at the nearby armament factories during the World War I. The Enfield scheme ended in 1921 and the remaining schemes ended in 1973 when they were privatised. [7]
The Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation is the modern-day descendant of a government agency originally established during Japanese rule in 1901 which was responsible for all liquor and tobacco products in Taiwan as well as opium, salt, and camphor. In 1922, the agency began selling Takasago Beer through the Takasago Malted Beer Company, which was subsequently renamed as Taiwan Beer in 1946. After the end of World War II in 1945, the incoming Kuomintang preserved the monopoly system for alcohol and tobacco, and assigned the production of beer to the Taiwan Provincial Monopoly Bureau, which was renamed as Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Monopoly Bureau the following year. The Bureau exercised a monopoly on all alcohol and tobacco products sold in Taiwan until liberalisation of the Taiwanese alcohol market between 1987 and 2002, after which it was succeeded by the state-owned Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation which competes with many overseas brands today.
The Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) is a company owned by the Government of Tamil Nadu, which has a monopoly over wholesale and retail vending of alcoholic beverages in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It controls the Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) trade in the state. A similar function is also performed by Kerala State Beverages Corporation (BEVCO) within the Indian state of Kerala.
All Nordic countries except Denmark have a government monopoly on the sale of strong alcohol.
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage, transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic beverages. The word is also used to refer to a period of time during which such bans are enforced.
V&S Group, founded in 1917, is an international producer and distributor of alcoholic beverages. The group is currently owned by Pernod Ricard. Headquartered in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, the group employs approximately 2,500 people.
Systembolaget, colloquially known as systemet or bolaget, is a government-owned chain of liquor stores in Sweden. It is the only retail store allowed to sell alcoholic beverages that contain more than 3.5% alcohol by volume. Systembolaget acts as a portal for private companies selling alcohol on the Swedish market and as of 2023, it represents 1,200 vendors ranging from small local breweries to large scale importers and multinational companies, selling products from a total of over 5,000 producers from all over the world.
Alko Inc is the national alcoholic beverage retailing monopoly in Finland. It is the only store in the country which retails beer over 8% ABV, wine and spirits. Alcoholic beverages are also sold in licensed restaurants and bars but only for consumption on the premises.
The Société des alcools du Québec is a provincial Crown corporation and monopoly in Quebec responsible for the trade of alcoholic beverages within the province.
The three-tier system of alcohol distribution is the system for distributing alcoholic beverages set up in the United States after the repeal of Prohibition. The three tiers are importers or producers; distributors; and retailers. The basic structure of the system is that producers can sell their products only to wholesale distributors who then sell to retailers, and only retailers may sell to consumers. Producers include brewers, wine makers, distillers and importers. The three-tier system is intended to prohibit tied houses and prevent "disorderly marketing conditions."
Brennivín is considered to be Iceland's signature distilled beverage. It is distilled from fermented grain mash and then combined with Iceland's very soft, high-pH water, and flavored only with caraway. A clear, savory, herbal spirit, the taste is often described as having notes of fresh rye bread. It is considered to be a type of aquavit and bottled at 37,5% ABV. The steeping of herbs in alcohol to create schnapps is a long-held folk tradition in Nordic countries, and Brennivín is still the traditional drink for the mid-winter feast of Þorrablót. Today, Icelanders typically drink it chilled, as a shot, with a beer, or as a base for cocktails. It often takes the place of gin in classic cocktails, or of a lighter rum in tropical drinks.
A liquor store is a retail business that predominantly sells prepackaged alcoholic beverages, including liquors, wine or beer, usually intended to be consumed off the store's premises. Depending on region and local idiom, they may also be called an off-licence, off-sale, bottle shop, bottle store or, colloquially, bottle-o, liquor store or other similar terms. A very limited number of jurisdictions have an alcohol monopoly. In US states that are alcoholic beverage control (ABC) states, the term ABC store may be used.
Alcoholic beverage control states, generally called control states, less often ABC states, are 17 states in the United States that have state monopoly over the wholesaling or retailing of some or all categories of alcoholic beverages, such as beer, wine, and distilled spirits.
Altia Oyj was a Finnish state-owned corporation based in Helsinki, which produces, imports, exports and markets alcoholic beverages. It operates in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Estonia and Latvia. Altia has production plants in Koskenkorva and Rajamäki in Finland and in Tabasalu in Estonia. Altia's strategy is based on two complementary cornerstones – building own brands and providing a leading Nordic and Baltic service platform for partners to develop their business. The largest imported brands are Drostdy-Hof, Two Oceans and Jack Daniel's.
The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, formerly the Washington State Liquor Control Board, is an administrative agency of the State of Washington. The Liquor and Cannabis Board is part of the executive branch and reports to the Governor. The board's primary function is the licensing of on and off premises establishments which sell any type of alcohol, and the enforcement and education of the state's alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis laws.
A liquor license is a governmentally issued permit for businesses to sell, manufacture, store, or otherwise use alcoholic beverages.
Alcoholic drinks in Sweden are as common as in most of the Western world. Sweden is historically part of the vodka belt, with high consumption of distilled drinks and binge drinking, but during the later half of the 20th century, habits became more harmonized with western Europe, with increasing popularity of wine and weekday drinking. Wine is now also grown and produced in several parts of Sweden and the southernmost region of Skåne is turning into a hub experiencing a strong growth in number of active vineyards.
The Bratt System was a system that was used in Sweden (1919–1955) and similarly in Finland (1944–1970) to control alcohol consumption, by rationing of liquor. Every citizen allowed to consume alcohol was given a booklet called a motbok, in which a stamp was added each time a purchase was made at Systembolaget and Alko. A somewhat similar system called tšekisüsteem also existed in Estonia between July 1, 1920 and December 31, 1925. The stamps were based on the amount of alcohol bought. When a certain amount of alcohol had been bought, the owner of the booklet had to wait until next month to buy more.
Alcohol laws are laws relating to manufacture, use, being under the influence of and sale of alcohol or alcoholic beverages. Common alcoholic beverages include beer, wine, (hard) cider, and distilled spirits. Definition of alcoholic beverage varies internationally, e.g., the United States defines an alcoholic beverage as "any beverage in liquid form which contains not less than one-half of one percent of alcohol by volume". Alcohol laws can restrict those who can produce alcohol, those who can buy it, when one can buy it, labelling and advertising, the types of alcoholic beverage that can be sold, where one can consume it, what activities are prohibited while intoxicated, and where one can buy it. In some cases, laws have even prohibited the use and sale of alcohol entirely.
Alcohol is prohibited in the states of Bihar, Gujarat, Mizoram, and Nagaland. All other Indian states and union territories permit the sale of alcohol.
The Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) is a company owned by the Government of Tamil Nadu, which has a monopoly over wholesale and retail vending of alcoholic beverages in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It controls the Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) trade in the state.
Rúsdrekkasøla Landsins, or simply Rúsan, is the national alcoholic beverage retailing monopoly of the Faroe Islands, following the model of neighbouring Nordic alcohol monopolies Vinmonopolet, Systembolaget, Vínbúð and Alko. The company was founded in 1992 after a long period of rationing and shipping such goods from Denmark. The company has outlets in Tórshavn, Hoyvík, Klaksvík, Saltangará, Miðvágur, Sandur and Trongisvágur.
Alcohol prohibition in Tamil Nadu is governed by the State Prohibition and Excise department as per the Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act, 1937. TASMAC, a state government-owned company, controls the wholesale and retail vending of alcoholic beverages in the State. On 24 May 2016, after her swearing-in, J. Jayalalitha announced the closing of 500 liquor shops and the reduction of the business hours of State-run liquor shops across the State. On 20 February 2017, the first office order signed by the Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami was the closure of 500 liquor outlets owned by the public sector TASMAC. This is in addition to the 500 liquor outlets closed down by late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in May 2016.
Anora Group Plc is a Nordic distilled beverage and wine company. It was formed in 2021 as a result of the merger of Norway's Arcus Group and Finland's Altia Group. Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Anora has offices in each of the Nordic capital cities.