A National Directory of Drug Treatment Centers and Alcohol Treatment Centers, Therapists and Specialists. A free, simple directory providing assistance and guidance for those seeking help regarding alcohol addiction, drug addiction, dependency and many other conditions that affect the mind, body and soul.
Call 888-647-0579 to speak with an alcohol or drug abuse counselor.

Who Answers?

Trying to break Russia’s vodka dependence

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is hoping for some New Year’s resolution among his countrymen, as he takes on one of Russia’s most deeply-entrenched and prickliest problems – alcoholism.

From 1 January, restrictions on the price of vodka in Russia come into force.

The cheapest bottle of vodka on sale will be 89 roubles (around £1.80; $3) for a half-litre bottle. While that still might sound cheap, the new law is all part of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s plan to tackle alcoholism in Russia.

Russians drink seriously. As a country they get through on average about 18 litres (32 pints) of pure alcohol a year.

Last year, when Mr Medvedev kick-started his campaign, he called Russia’s alcohol problem a “national disgrace” and said he was determined to cut that figure by a quarter by 2012.

But combating the consumption of what most Russians consider to be their national drink is a brave political move considering the lack of success his predecessors have had.

The last time anyone tried it was 24 years ago, when Russia was part of the Soviet Union.

Perfume not sold

Then, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev drastically cut vodka production and did not allow it to be sold before 2pm.

Significantly, perfume was also not to be sold before midday as people were starting to drink that.

Officially, lives were saved and alcoholism dropped, but Soviet state revenues took a massive hit and so did Mr Gorbachev’s popularity. President Medvedev cannot allow either of those things to happen to him.

What Mr Medvedev does know, though, is that if he can reduce alcoholism in Russia, he is likely to improve health and life-expectancy, and therefore raise Russia’s GDP.

At the moment, bootleg vodka is available at around 40 roubles a half litre. So even though $3 for bottle of vodka may seem cheap to most people, it is double the price of the bootleg version.

Importantly for the government, the minimum-price law brings in a way of telling what is illegal and what is not, and attempts to claw back some tax revenue.

Small step

But will establishing a minimum price be effective?

Doctors dealing with the problem are not sure.

“This law is not the solution, it is just a small step, albeit a positive one, in the fight against alcoholism,” said Elena Igorevna, a doctor with Moscow’s Scientific Centre for Substance Abuse.

“I believe that every problem must be addressed comprehensively. I think that alcohol consumption is an issue of national importance.”

The problem for Mr Medvedev is that, historically, whenever Russia has tried to combat excessive drinking, illicit sales of alcohol have risen.

Experts estimate that bootleg vodka – often made after-hours in legal distilleries – makes up almost 50% of all vodka drunk by Russians.

Such liquor is unregulated and contributes heavily to the country’s 35,000 deaths a year from alcohol poisoning.

The medical journal The Lancet earlier this year estimated that half of all deaths in Russia between 15 and 54 were alcohol-related.

Game-playing

It is probably even higher than the figure for road deaths, says political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin, as work deaths and other accidental deaths in Russia are often drink-related.

However, he said, raising the price of vodka to 89 roubles appeared more to be political game-playing than trying to get to grips with the problem.

More effective, according to Mr Oreshkin, would be changing the culture and attitudes towards drink – but doing that would take generations and the problem, as ever, is that Russia always wants an instant solution.

source: BBC News

More Treatment & Detox Articles

Alcohol a ‘major contributing factor’ in self harm

Alcohol was involved in nearly two thirds of self harm cases which were recorded as part of a pilot programme in the Western Health Trust area. The “Registry of Deliberate Self Harm” recorded almost 2,700 incidents between January 2007 and December 2008. The A&E units of Altnagelvin, Tyrone County and Erne Hospitals took part. The….

Continue reading

Adults no help to teenage drinkers

What would you do? A 16-year-old comes up to you and asks for a little help. He and his friends are bored and just want to have a little fun that night. He asks you to buy booze. Got a problem with that? The Pittsfield Prevention Partnership says you should, but not everyone does. And….

Continue reading

You may be drinking to your death

Excessive consumption of alcohol impairs normal reasoning and can lead to injury or even death. Ugandans love their drink. When you ask most, even ladies, how their perfect evening would be, the answer usually is, “At an outing having a drink.” A drink here doesn’t refer to one bottle of beer; what most of them….

Continue reading

Anchorage Battles Chronic Public Drunkenness

On a recent Tuesday night, Anchorage police sergeant Dennis Allen came upon a familiar face at a bus stop. It was Paul, one of Anchorage’s 400 or so homeless alcoholics who chronically get drunk in public. He was drinking malt liquor from a cup, and Allen made him pour it out. Later Allen came upon….

Continue reading

Calls to the general helpline will be answered by a paid advertiser. By calling the helpline you agree to our terms of use.

I NEED TO TALK TO SOMEONE NOWI NEED TO TALK TO SOMEONE NOW 888-647-0579Response time about 1 min | Response rate 100%
Who Answers?