The unprecedented decline in the tax on alcohol, which took effect in Finland on Monday, brought massive convoys of trucks to Finnish roads late Sunday night in an effort to help retail outlets replenish their shelves with the cheaper beverages.

   

Grocery stores had let their supplies of medium-strength beer and cider diminish, and state monopoly Alko stores had been running low on stronger drink, waiting for the lower taxes to take effect before restocking.

   

At midnight the first lorries of beer left the Koff brewery in Kerava to the sound of applause from workers on the night shift. By half past twelve the first cases of cheaper beer were being unloaded at a wholesale warehouse in nearby Vantaa.

   

Meanwhile, stronger spirits were being loaded onto trucks at the Altia distillery at Rajamäki. A total of half a million litres of various alcoholic beverages are to be dispatched from the Rajamäki plant on Monday, and more than six million litres of drinks of different types will be moving around on the country's highways on Monday.

The massive operation is expected to continue until the middle of the week. The unusual spectacle was prompted by the cut in Finland's alcohol taxes, which have traditionally been kept high to discourage excess consumption.

   

The tax cut was enacted two months after restrictions on personal imports of alcoholic beverages from other EU countries expired.

   

The new regulations have already led to an increase in personal imports from Germany, which is presently the nearest EU member state with significantly lower alcohol prices than Finland. However, officials have been especially concerned about a potential rush of personal imports of alcohol from nearby Estonia when that country joins the European Union in May.

The tax on strong spirits, which were the most heavily taxed, went down the most - by 44%. For instance, a 70 cl bottle of Koskenkorva grain spirits, which used to cost EUR 14.35, has gone down to just EUR 9.20.

   

The tax cut on fortified wines such as sherries and vermouths has dropped by 40%, and the tax on beer is going down by 32%. A bottle of ordinary domestic medium-strength beer, which still cost EUR 1.24 during the weekend, is going for just EUR 1.07 today.

   

The smallest change is in table wines, where the tax cut is just 10%.

   

Restaurants and bars will decide whether or not to pass the savings of the tax cuts on to their customers. If they do, the price of a shot of hard liquor should go down by 41 cents, and a half-litre mug of beer should come down by 25 cents. The effect on a glass of wine would be just three cents.

To mitigate the problems likely to result from the lower prices, the government is launching a massive campaign aimed at reducing the harm caused by drinking.

   

The National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health (STAKES) estimates that the tax cut and the increase in personal imports could lead to an additional 600 alcohol-related deaths annually, in addition to last year's approximately 3,000.