Posted on 01/04/2009 6:42:50 PM PST by nickcarraway
"Today, Russia doesn't look better or worse than the rest of the world," Evgeny Bryun, Moscow's chief physician, said this week.
Despite statistics that prove otherwise, Bryun said the image of the average Russian man as a vodka-swilling beer lover was simply a myth.
Russians only seriously began drinking after the end of the Second World War and the party just lasted too long, he said.
"Soldiers got used to drinking at the front, they celebrated the victory, and this celebration lasted for a very long time," Bryun said.
Bryun's flippant comments stand in stark contrast to a state report released last year that documented a sharp rise in Russians' alcohol consumption.
The average Russian now drinks 15 litres of alcohol per year up from 5.4 litres in 1990, the report by Russia's chief physician, Gennady Onishchenko, found.
In contrast, Brits drink an average of 11.2 litres per year and Americans take in 8.4 litres.
Alcohol causes one in eight deaths in Russia, and contributes heavily to the country's startlingly high mortality rates for men. The average Russian man only lives to the age of 61, while women, whose drinking is on the upswing according to the report, live til 74 on average.
That study found that 1.5 percent of Russia's population can be considered alcoholics, but Bryun himself said the number was likely higher.
Two per cent of the Moscow population could be considered alcoholics, he said, while 10 per cent indulged in drink every day, but hadn't been diagnosed with having a problem.
Drinking often gets worse over Russia's New Year holiday, which lasts a whopping ten days and sees the country shuts down completely. Stock markets are closed, no newspapers are published. Yet most liquor shops remain open, where a bottle of vodka can be
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
This article could only have been written by someone who never had a few drinks with some Russians!
Adm. Painter: "Russians don't take a dump, son, without a plan."
In fact, he prefers to ignore beer and concentrate entirely on vodka.
While this piece says that the average Russian male life expectancy is 61, I have read that it is currently 57 and declining. So much for the golden years.
Every time I buy a woman a drink at a bar I think they show up with hollow legs.
It's not the alcohol thats killing them. It's the food.
Tried that when I went back in 2004. It's actually not that bad. Not something I'd want to eat on a regular basis but it was interesting.
Oh.. sorry, I thought the questions were rhetorical...
There is no doubt that Russia is suffering mightily due to their excessive drinking. Your questions hit at the main issues.
I can say this though... they do seem to be drinking slightly less now than in past years. At least, now.. vodka has become illegal to possess inside the chemical complexes I visit. 8 years ago, I had vodka toasts in the plant manager's office.
Still though, just 6 months ago, a random man sitting next to me on an airplane became angry with me when I wouldn't share a morning brandy with him at 8 am. yuk...
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