Russian lawmakers in the Vologda region, north of Moscow, proposed limiting alcohol sales to two hours a day on weekdays after the local governor reported a “horrific” mortality, reported Reuters, quoted by BTA.
The governor of the Vologda region, Georgi Filimonov, said that 71% of the deaths of men of working age are related to alcohol consumption, including due to diseases such as cirrhosis and heart disease.
„In one year, the prevalence of alcoholism has increased by 30 percent. The picture is terrible,” he said in an 8-minute video address posted on his “Telegram” channel. and presented the bill as an emergency public health intervention.
„We cannot remain indifferent when our countrymen die”, the governor pointed out and added: „If people die, and they die as during war, who will come in their place?”
The bill, which is being debated by local legislatures, would allow stores to sell alcohol only from 12 noon to 2 pm on weekdays, while sales on weekends and holidays would remain unaffected. If the law is passed, the restrictions will go into effect on March 1 next year.
Demographic problems have come to the fore in Russia since the country went to war with Ukraine, and official figures released last month showed the birth rate had fallen to its lowest level in 25 years.
The average life expectancy in Russia last year was 73.1 years, official statistics show. Data from Eurostat for the same year show that citizens of the European Union countries live to 81.5 years on average.
According to data from the World Health Organization, Russia traditionally holds the first places in Europe for alcohol consumption.
„Irreparable damage is being done to the health of future generations, to the economy, to our public, social and cultural life,” said Filimonov. “And all this happens in peacetime, not on the front line”, he added.
The Kremlin said today that such restrictions are not being discussed at the federal level, after a member of the lower house of parliament told the media that he supports a gradual restriction of alcohol sales in Russia.
Russian and Soviet leaders have tried to change drinking habits before, but their initiatives have had limited success.
In 2010, Vladimir Putin, then prime minister, approved restrictions on sales and production, imposed higher taxes and introduced barriers to alcohol advertising.
The Last Emperor of Russia – Tsar Nicholas II also banned the sale of hard liquor in 1914 at the outbreak of the First World War. Later, in 1925, Joseph Stalin lifted the ban and introduced the state monopoly system on vodka to fill the state coffers.