Health official warns alcohol access is making drinking more attractive

Alcohol consumption among teenagers has been allowed to increase as access to alcohol has expanded, Dóra Guðrún Guðmundsdóttir, director of public health at the Office of the Director of Health, told mbl.is.

Nearly 30 online alcohol retailers are now operating, she said. The office has examined age checks at such retailers and found that few have adequate controls. Alcohol can also be delivered by couriers who do not always ask for identification.

“This has almost descended into complete disorder. We are losing control,” Guðmundsdóttir said.

She said responsibility lay with several groups. Parents had relaxed their approach, while police were not fining retailers that sold alcohol illegally, despite such sales having been classified as an offence. She also pointed to sports clubs that considered alcohol sales necessary for fundraising.

“We are seeing financial gain or financial interests controlling the direction,” she said. Those campaigning for greater access to alcohol were focused on how to increase profits, often in the name of freedom, she said. The Office of the Director of Health, by contrast, had no interests other than communicating what research and data showed.

“When we increase access, consumption increases. We have the interests of children and young people as our guiding principle,” Guðmundsdóttir said.

She said young people were also exposed to pressure and alcohol advertising on their phones. The office had heard that children as young as 11 had received advertisements from online alcohol retailers.

Colourful alcoholic drinks that often resemble soft drinks and are heavily advertised could be part of the same development, she said. “This may be part of increasing access, making it more attractive and more innocent, as if it were not something dangerous.”

Guðmundsdóttir said the Office of the Director of Health believed access to alcohol should be restricted and that existing laws should first be enforced. Illegal retailers should be punished and closed, she said, adding that most online alcohol retailers were illegal.

She also said alcohol sales should remain in the hands of the state, in line with recommendations from the World Health Organization and others. Having sales handled by state-run liquor stores was a protective factor, she said, while the harm and social cost of alcohol consumption were enormous.