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Why more and more Norwegians are drinking alcohol-free beer

10.6 million litres of non-alcoholic beer were sold in Norway in 2019, a new record for the Scandinavian country.

Published: 17 February 2020 15:58 CET
Why more and more Norwegians are drinking alcohol-free beer
File photo: AFP

The figure, which applies to country’s the entire beverage industry, was reported by news bureau NTB on Monday.

Increasing popularity of non-alcoholic beer is linked to a wider selection and improving quality of products, according to Henrik Lund, marketing manager for alcohol-free beer Ringnes, a major Norwegian brewery.

“The good taste experience and the high quality of the brewery means that alcohol-free beer is no longer seen as a substitute for beer with alcohol,” Lund told NTB.

While 2019 was a record year for non-alcoholic beer, 2020 has begun by setting an unprecedented pace for sales of the product.

During the first three weeks of January, sales of non-alcoholic beer increased by as much as 10 percent compared to 2019.

Increasing awareness regarding fitness and health, making more people consider their alcohol intake, is helping to boost the sector, Lund said.

“We believe (the January figures are) primarily due to a stronger focus on health and fitness in January,” he told NTB.

“This is due not only to a desire to reduce alcohol consumption after Christmas and New Year's celebrations, but also the fact that beer without alcohol contains far fewer calories than soda or beer with alcohol,” he added.

READ ALSO: Fylleangst: Norwegian drinking culture's special term

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HEALTH

Lengthy waiting times at Danish hospitals not going away yet: minister

Danish Minister for the Interior and Health Sophie Løhde has warned that, despite increasing activity at hospitals, it will be some time before current waiting lists are reduced.

Published: 10 May 2023 15:09 CEST
Lengthy waiting times at Danish hospitals not going away yet: minister

The message comes as Løhde was set to meet with officials from regional health authorities on Wednesday to discuss the progress of an acute plan for the Danish health system, launched at the end of last year in an effort to reduce a backlog of waiting times which built up during the coronavirus crisis.

An agreement with regional health authorities on an “acute” spending plan to address the most serious challenges faced by the health services agreed in February, providing 2 billion kroner by the end of 2024.

READ ALSO: What exactly is wrong with the Danish health system?

The national organisation for the health authorities, Danske Regioner, said to newspaper Jyllands-Posten earlier this week that progress on clearing the waiting lists was ahead of schedule.

Some 245,300 operations were completed in the first quarter of this year, 10 percent more than in the same period in 2022 and over the agreed number.

Løhde said that the figures show measures from the acute plan are “beginning to work”.

“It’s positive but even though it suggests that the trend is going the right way, we’re far from our goal and it’s important to keep it up so that we get there,” she said.

“I certainly won’t be satisfied until waiting times are brought down,” she said.

“As long as we are in the process of doing postponed operations, we will unfortunately continue to see a further increase [in waiting times],” Løhde said.

“That’s why it’s crucial that we retain a high activity this year and in 2024,” she added.

Although the government set aside 2 billion kroner in total for the plan, the regional authorities expect the portion of that to be spent in 2023 to run out by the end of the summer. They have therefore asked for some of the 2024 spending to be brought forward.

Løhde is so far reluctant to meet that request according to Jyllands-Posten.

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