Russia plans to cut alcohol consumption in half by 2020

Submitted by Matt on Thu, 2010-01-14 20:12

Story here. Excerpt:

'Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has approved a national concept to fight pervasive alcohol abuse in Russia with the target to cut alcohol consumption in half by 2020 and uproot the illegal market.

Measures to achieve the goals include the introduction of criminal punishment for alcohol production and sales violations, advertising restrictions, a pricing policy dependent on quality, and efforts to promote a healthy lifestyle, the Russian government said on its website on Wednesday.

"The first phase (2010-2012) will include measures to cut alcohol consumption by 15% per capita... The second phase (2012-2020) will see the elimination of the illegal alcohol market and a reduction in consumption levels by 55%," the government said.

The concept is designed to reduce the high mortality caused by alcohol abuse especially among men. More than 23,000 people die of alcohol poisoning annually, while another 75,000 die of alcohol-related diseases, according to official statistics.'

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Comments

Maybe they should try to find out WHY men die more from alchohol and direct attention to the core of the problem rather than using that as an excuse to reduce alcohol consumption itself. Could higher alcoholism rates in men share a similar cause with higher rates of homelessness, incarceration, mental illness, suicide deaths, etc.? No we can't address that. That would put an end to male disposability.

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Submitted by Marc A. on Fri, 2010-01-15 03:12