Örnsköldsvik is a small town in the term of size and how many that are living here, about 30tousen. Everywhere in the EU the taxes of alcohol are starting to being lowered. It's quite easy to think that lowering the taxes of alcohol wouldn´t do that much harm. But just as I wrote, Örnsköldsvik isn't a big town but still got a lot of people with the addiction of alcohol.

The average alcoholic is a middle aged man who often has lost his family bounds or job, often both. A person that drinks himself drunk everyday often falls into a bad circle, waking up from the rouse and thinking how miserable he is, and then starts to drink again to forget the self-inflicted shame he's bearing on his braking back.
The alcoholists see themselves as very social individuals as they more or less working as a team with their whereabouts. But just as people starts to look at them they remember their miserable life and often gets really angry.
Here in Sweden the drinkers buy their goods at “Systembolaget” a chain of stores founded by the government to have a monopoly on the liquor. It was founded because the government wanted to have more control over the peoples drinking, in the times before “Systembolaget” the use of alcohol was practically insane.

But now EU wants Sweden to end the monopoly to make it easier for producers from other countries to get hold of the market here in Sweden. They plan to get into the market with cheaper prices, as the Swedish tax of alcohol is one of the highest in the world. It is shown that many people cannot afford to being alcoholics because of the high taxes, but many are still addicted. It is quite simple to think out the consequences of a lowered price on alcohol. And as you know, addiction of alcohol is a very critical treat against society because of all the outcasts it creates. These people does not pay taxes, often gets in trouble that costs big amounts of money, taken from the pockets of the taxpayers.

About the troubles mentioned. These are numbers of increased alcohol related crimes in Finland. Based upon numbers after they decreased their alcoholtax this year with 33%.

Some of the several alcohol related crimes that dramatically increased
Alcoholics taken into custody +20%
Driving under the influence of alcohol +15%
Intervention in home +22%
Violent crimes +22%
Rough psychical abuse +17%


Going by these numbers you can quite easily get an idea of what maybe would happen if the government decide make the the tax lower.
It's quite simple mathematics.
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