Was Sweden's historic alcohol problem exaggerated for political reasons?
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In this week's episode you can listen to a conversation our Nordic editor Richard Orange had recently with the high-profile food historian Richard Tellström about the history of Sweden's alcohol retail monopoly.
Why did Sweden start rationing how much alcohol that could be bought as far back as the 1850s? How influential was the fledgling temperance movement? And was Sweden's alcohol problem really as bad as they claimed?
What role does Systembolaget play in Swedish society today, and why is even the recent mild liberalisation that allows alcohol producers to sell small quantities on their own premises so fraught with controversy?
Membership+ subscribers can listen to the interview in the latest episode of Sweden in Focus Extra.
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