Aussies would spew.
Imagine buying your alcohol from the government!
That's what they do here in Sweden (and in Finland).
I couldn't leave Sweden without touching on this unexpected situation.
Here's the explanation straight from my Lonely Planet Stockholm Encounter little book:
Systembolaget
Sweden's tough stance on lowering alcohol consumption and alcohol-related illnesses sees the state-owned bottle-shop chain Systembolaget solely responsible for selling to the masses alcoholic beverages with an alchohol volume above 3.5%.
According to the bureaucrats, curbing private profit from alchohol sales means a less competitive market and lower alcohol abuse. Even in the state-owned stores, discounts, two-for-one deals and preferential treatment of products is strictly prohibited.
Nanny state or not, it seems to do the trick - Sweden has one of the lowest death rates from chirrhosis of the liver in Europe. Not that Systembolaget isn't "with it" - in recent years, slick supermarket-style outlets have replaced the former queue-by-number shops and the stock is thirst-quenchingly impressive.
Can you imagine!?! These places, which you can see above, are never open on a Sunday, and some are open till 8pm at the latest - which means, if you're desperate for an alcohol fix on a Sunday, or want to keep on drinking on Saturday night after you went through your stash...well you're up the creek.
At first I couldn't believe it. TM spent an evening at a Whiskey Fair, and when I asked what he bought, he said "Nothing. You can't buy there, remember!". Bloody hell!
But after the initial shock, well it sorta started making sense. I can see what they're doing - and it seems to be getting the results.
Oh, and the other thing I noticed is that even with the Big Brother approach, I still saw some very um...under the weather Swedes at a Saturday night party!!! Apparently, it's all about planning!
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