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Russians call last orders on drinking as alcohol consumption plummets

Russian president Vladimir Putin's his policy of alcohol control, implemented in 2011 and based on WHO recommendations, has paid off - Bloomberg
Russian president Vladimir Putin's his policy of alcohol control, implemented in 2011 and based on WHO recommendations, has paid off - Bloomberg

The consumption of alcohol in Russia has plummeted by more than 40 per cent over the last 15 years, leading to a huge fall in death rates, figures show.

A report by the World Health Organization shows that the traditional view of Russia as a hard-drinking nation may soon be overturned as consumption of alcohol fell by 43 per cent between 2003 and 2016.

Alongside this drop in drinking, there has also been a fall in the death rate – by 39 per cent in men and 36 per cent in women.

Life expectancy in Russia is at an all-time high and in 2018 was 78 years for women and 68 years for men. By contrast, the life expectancy for women in the UK is nearly 83 years and 79 years for men.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has been keen to portray himself as a clean-living, teetotal hard man and his policy of alcohol control, implemented in 2011 and based on WHO recommendations, has paid off.

The report puts the reduction in consumption down to a range of factors such as the introduction of high taxes on alcohol, minimum pricing and restrictions on the sale, consumption and marketing of alcohol.

Alcohol can no longer be bought between 11pm and 8am and drinking is banned in in public places such as parks.

Drinking has always been a part of Russian life but the social upheaval precipitated by the collapse of the Soviet Union led to a huge rise in alcohol consumption and deaths.

The report highlights the “Russian mortality crisis of the 1990s and 2000s”, with research suggesting that one in every two men of working age would die prematurely because of heavy drinking.

However, despite the progress the total per capita alcohol consumption in the Russian Federation seems to have stagnated in recent years, the report says.

The average Russian adult still consumes 11 to 12 litres of pure alcohol every year – compared to 18.7 litres in 2005. This is still one of the highest levels of drinking worldwide.

The prevalence of heavy episodic drinking – classified as consuming the equivalent of six small shots of vodka on at least one occasion in the last 30 days – has also fallen. In 2005, 51 per cent of the adult population had had an episode of heavy drinking, compared to 35 per cent in 2016.

A crackdown on alcohol in the 1980s led to a huge rise in the consumption of moonshine, often leading to disastrous consequences. The consumption of home brew alcohol fell dramatically between 2001 and 2014 but has begun to creep up again, the report shows.

Carina Ferreira-Borges, programme manager for alcohol and illicit drugs in WHO's Europe office, urged other countries to follow Russia's lead in cracking down on alcohol.

She added: “The dramatic decline in consumption of homemade, smuggled or illegally produced alcohol in the Russian Federation is attributable to the government’s adoption of evidence-based alcohol control policies.

"These results show that measures such as the introduction of monitoring systems, price increases and limited alcohol availability work to save lives and health system costs. I trust that other countries in Europe will adopt similar policies to protect people’s health."

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