Russian citizens have a low life expectancy in comparison with citizens of other countries and according to a leading Russian institute study, the heavy consumption of cheap, strong alcoholic beverages contributes to this.
A recent news report notes the average Russian drinks between 15 ad 18 liters of alcohol every year. While this volume is less than citizens of some European countries, drinking in Russia is dangerously skewed towards vodka.
"Hazardous consumption of strong spirits is the main cause of high mortality in Russia," the Moscow-based New Economic School said in a statement announcing the release of its study.
"In terms of the structure of consumption, strong beverages make up the main part and that is the difference from other countries," Denisova, a researcher at the New Economic School, told a news conference.
Denisova went on to highlight that drinking strong alcohol actually reduces life expectancy by nine to 10 years on average. According to official government statistics from 2008, Russian men have an average life expectancy of just 61.8 years.
In a news conference, experts urged authorities to raise the price of vodka in an effort to encourage Russians to drink less of this particular type of alcohol.
"In the short term it would be rational to replace vodka consumption with that of wine and beer," said Yevgeny Gontmakher, an expert at the Institute for Contemporary Development, a think tank that advises President Dmitry Medvedev.
This isn’t the first time Medvedev has sought to rein in rampant alcoholism, but previous anti-alcohol attempts have proved unpopular among the Russian population. Given the popularity of vodka among its citizens, this latest initiative may have little impact.
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