Supervision of alcohol

We exercise supervision in order to prevent injury and crime

Supervision to ensure compliance with alcohol legislation is a preventive intervention intended to reduce the medical and social damage caused by alcohol. It is a vital part of our work to promote good and equitable health.

It is also a crime-prevention intervention that can prevent the illegal sale and marketing of alcohol, as well as associated crimes of violence, such as assault, threatening behaviour, robbery and sexual offences.

Supervision helps to create fair competition and equal conditions for all companies in the market.

What we supervise

We exercise supervision concerning the provisions of alcohol legislation, including:

• the manufacture and wholesale of alcoholic beverages;
• the import and sale of technical spirits; and
• trade in alcoholic preparations.

We plan our supervision and can act based on intelligence received

Among other things, we plan our supervision based on external monitoring, following up previous inspections and any complaints and reports that we receive. We may also act based on intelligence gathered from sources such as professional practitioners, other public authorities and members of the public.

You can learn more in our Enforcement Plan 2024, which details our planned supervisory and market surveillance activities in the areas of alcohol, tobacco and similar products, tobacco-free nicotine products, and certain goods dangerous to health.

This is how we exercise supervision

We perform our supervisory role by checking that those whose operations are subject to the Swedish Alcohol Act (SFS 2010:1622) comply with the provisions of the Act and the associated regulations. This includes controls of handling and storage. We also inspect technical spirits and alcoholic preparations that are not intended for consumption to ensure that they are correctly denatured, i.e., that they contain one or more additives to make them unsuitable for human consumption.

The approach we choose depends on the circumstances and needs of the case in question. We may review:

• documentation
• information on websites
• products in shops.

Whenever we initiate a case, we contact the operator in question and inform them of what we plan to review. In certain cases, we may need to obtain information about the operation. As the supervisory authority, pursuant to Section 13 of Chapter 9 of the Alcohol Act we have the right to inspect documents relating to the business, the scope of its operations and development, as well as to obtain any samples of goods and the like that may be needed for our supervision. We also have the right to enter the premises where the operations are conducted.

What happens if we discover deficiencies?

If, in the course of our supervision, we discover that an operator is failing to comply with legal requirements, we will notify the Swedish Police Authority.

If we do not discover any deficiencies, we may decide to close the case. We may even decide to close the case once the operator has rectified any deficiencies we have notified them of.

Restrict or deny access to the Swedish market

If we deem that a product sold legally in another European Union Member States or in Turkey does not have adequate protection for public health, within the scope of our supervision we may decide to restrict the sale of the product on or deny it access to the Swedish market. This also applies to products originating and legally sold in a country belonging to the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). If we do make such a decision, we are obliged to notify the operator without undue delay. We will also notify National Board of Trade Sweden of our decision, which in turn will inform the European Commission. If you are subject to such a decision and need assistance of a non-legal nature, you have recourse to SOLVIT, a free-of-charge service that helps to resolve issues related to the single market.

Other public authorities also have supervisory responsibility pursuant to alcohol legislation

Aside from the Public Health Agency of Sweden, there are other public authorities that have supervisory responsibility for certain parts of alcohol legislation.

Municipalities and the Swedish Police Authority supervise compliance with provisions on serving alcoholic beverages and non-beverage alcoholic preparations, as well as the retailing of medium-strong beer (folköl).

The Swedish Consumer Agency supervises compliance with provisions on the marketing of alcohol. Municipalities are also responsible for the supervision of licences to serve alcohol.

The Swedish Tax Agency exercises supervision of wholesalers of spirits, wines, strong beers and other fermented alcoholic beverages.

Learn more

You can find more detailed information about the provisions that apply if your business is subject to the Alcohol Act and our supervision here:

• Tillverkning av sprit och alkoholdrycker (folkhalsomyndigheten.se) (in Swedish)
• Import och införsel av alkoholdrycker och alkoholdrycksliknande preparat (folkhalsomyndigheten.se) (in Swedish)
• Partihandel med alkoholdrycker och alkoholdrycksliknande preparat (folkhalsomyndigheten.se) (in Swedish)
• Kontrollorgan och extern kontroll teknisk sprit (folkhalsomyndigheten.se) (in Swedish)