This adds up to an additional 420 sudden deaths by alcohol yearly, according to research published in the magazine Addiction and carried out by the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki, the National Research Institute of Legal Policy and the Finnish Foundation for Alcohol Studies.
The research results are in line with data that alcohol consumption has dramatically increased following the lowering of the alcohol tax.
Relaxed regulations on alcohol imports and Estonia joining the EU do not seem to have influenced the number of sudden deaths from alcohol, according to the research.
The researchers also point out that alcohol is the cause of several illnesses, and that not all alcohol-related deaths are sudden.
Earlier research indicates that over 3,000 people die due to alcohol each year in Finland.
