Changes in Finnish adolescents’ alcoholic beverage preferences 1999–2017

AIMS: The purpose was to examine the changes in alcoholic beverage preferences among 14- and 16-year-olds in Finland from the year 1999 to 2017. In addition, the effects of age, gender and drinking style on beverage preference was studied. METHODS: Nationally representative surveys of adolescent health behaviours in Finland from 1999 (n = 4943) and 2017 (n = 2451) among 14- and 16-year-olds were analysed using cross-tabulations and logistic regression modelling. Beverage data were coded from an open-ended question concerning the latest drinking occasion. RESULTS: While the prevalence of 14- and 16-year-old adolescents’ alcohol drinking was more than halved between 1999 and 2017, the popularities of different beverages did not change equally. Drinking beer, cider and strong beverages mirrored the total decrease, as did the drinking of several different beverage types at a time. Wine drinking decreased only a little and alcopops actually increased in popularity. Taking the amounts of pure ethanol in the beverages into account, the proportion of alcohol drunk in the forms of beer and cider decreased notably, and in the form of wine it decreased a little. Strong beverages increased their share of alcohol drunk, but the most notable increase was seen in the share of alcopops, which more than doubled their share of the pure ethanol drunk. CONCLUSIONS: Increased popularity of alcopops among the under-aged together with the recent alcohol law change increasing the availability of alcopops in Finland call for attention to be paid both to marketing and the control of age limits of these products.