PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Colleagues,
As was agreed a while ago, we are meeting today in expanded format to discuss measures for fighting alcoholism. At the State Council meeting on youth policy we agreed to address this subject separately, in detail, and make the necessary decisions.
You know just how serious a problem alcoholism has become for our country. Frankly speaking, it has taken on the proportions of a national disaster. According to the Healthcare and Social Development Ministry’s statistics, per capita alcohol consumption in Russia – taking the whole population, including babies – now stands at 18 litres of pure alcohol a year. You can calculate for yourselves how many bottles of vodka this means – quite simply alarming. This is more than twice the level that the World Health Organisation defines as dangerous for people’s health and lives. Such a high level is quite simply a real threat to our country’s and people’s normal life.
We have taken various measures over these last years of course. Tighter rules on production and sale of alcoholic beverages were introduced, and significant restrictions were imposed on their advertising. Tougher penalties were introduced for drunk driving. But so far, we have not seen any real change in the situation. To be really honest, all of these efforts have had no real effect at all. Let’s be up front about this. All they have done is brought some order to the situation. . . . . .
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