Home brewing and the smuggling of alcohol to Iceland has reportedly increased. According to a new survey carried out by MMR for the Icelandic Federation of Trade (FA), almost 50 percent of respondents 18 to 29 years old said there had been an increase in home brewing and smuggling of alcohol since before the crash in 2008.
Photo by Páll Stefánsson.
The sale of strong alcohol at the state-operated liquor stores, which have a monopoly on the sale of alcohol in Iceland, decreased by around 40 percent between 2008 and 2011, and a further 6 percent this year. In 2008, sales of strong alcohol totaled 376,000 liters. In 2012, this number is projected to amount to 230,000 liters.
Director of FA Almar Guðmundsson told Fréttablaðið that the increase in tariffs on alcohol which aim to meet the objectives of the public health strategy, will not serve their purpose if consumers turn to the black market. Almar also said that people with low income such as students are of concern in this regard.
The government is planning a further 4.6 percent increase in the alcohol tariff in relation with the 2013 budget bill.
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ZR
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