Law does not stop minors from drinking on streets or at home

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Legislation that bans underage drinking is not working; police in Finland have found themselves powerless to stop teenagers from drinking openly, says Ismo Tuominen, the official at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health who is responsible for alcohol legislation.
      “This is sad. Police do not take issue with drinking on the streets by those who are under age."
     
Under Finnish alcohol legislation, children under the age of 18 are not allowed to possess or drink alcoholic beverages anywhere, and certainly not in public places. Nevertheless, a teenager spending an evening with a bottle or several of beer or cider is a common sight in Finland.
      Tuominen does not blame the police; he says that the problem is the general attitude that turns a blind eye towards conspicuous drunkenness.
      “In Italy, for instance, drinking oneself to a state of intoxication in which speech is slurred is met with disapproval. In Finland, this is not the case”, he says.
      Tuominen even ponders if Finland might be just as well off if it allowed youth drinking, considering that the present system is not preventing them from doing it.
      “We are living as if the law had been repealed, as we are concentrating on care for drunken children on city streets.”
     
Helsinki police and legal experts agree with Tuominen in saying that teenage drinking is a problem that is difficult to solve.
      However, they will not go so far as to say that underage drinking should be legalised.
      Pekka Höök of the Helsinki Police Department says that the police interfere with street drinking by young people “as well as we can”.
      “Quite a few litres of alcohol have been poured out onto the ground”, he says.
     
Höök believes that the alcohol question is linked with Finnish society, and with Finnish attitudes. He does not believe that punishment will end it. Under basic legal principles, legislation can be considered null and void if the law is not obeyed or enforced.
      “Generally it is expected that a law should have certain efficiency, and a degree of obedience”, says Kaarlo Tuori, Professor of Law at the University of Helsinki.
      However, he would not go so far as to lift the ban on underage drinking.
      Tuori compares the underage drinking ban with the law making the use of bicycle helmets mandatory.
      The bicycle helmet law is haphazardly observed and enforced, and violations of the law do not carry any punishments, but the law sends a message on rules that should be obeyed.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  New Year brings an end to bulk beer discounts; alcohol taxes raised across the board (2.1.2008)
  Programme aimed at reducing harm of increased alcohol consumption (28.4.2004)
  Ministry says alcohol poses a threat to Finnish internal security (16.4.2008)
  Finnish alcohol consumption heads upwards again (5.3.2008)

Helsingin Sanomat