Where am I?
Home > Chronicles > World > Europe
Sunday, November 22 2009 00:17h
REMEMBER YELTSIN
Say No To Vodka, President Tells Russians
`We drink more now than in the 1990s, although those were difficult times`, the ITAR-Tass news agency quoted Medvedev.
Say No To Vodka, President Tells Russians
The Newest Articles
Boris Yeltsin

Author
Author
Reuters
File photo
TEXT
Published: June 30, 2009 21:35h
President Dmitry Medvedev has told Russians they must kick the alcohol habit.

"We drink more now than in the 1990s, although those were difficult times," the ITAR-Tass news agency quoted Medvedev as saying on Tuesday.

Health Minister Tatyana Golikova has been ordered to devise an anti-alcohol strategy. "We need to prepare a corresponding programme and take appropriate measures," Medvedev said.

A report by The Lancet medical journal last week said alcohol-related diseases caused around half of all deaths of Russians between the ages of 15 and 54.

Vodka is enshrined in Russian culture despite efforts by previous leaders to break the macho drinking culture.

A 1986 anti-alcohol campaign by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev led to a boom in illegal production of low-quality alcohol, and Russians learned to drink perfumes and other household liquids made from alcohol.

But Russia's falling population is worrying its leaders.

A United Nations report in April said poor diet, smoking and heavy drinking led to a high rate of heart disease and, alongside emigration and violent deaths, could cause Russia's population to fall to 131 million by 2025 from 142 million now.

The Russian government is also trying to wean Russians off gambling. From Wednesday, all gambling halls and casinos will shut and gaming will be allowed only in Las Vegas-style zones in four rarely visited regions of the country.

Related Articles
ADS
EGYPT-ALGERIA DISPUTE

Mubarak's son weighs in on Egypt-Algeria dispute

The play-off came after Egypt defeated Algeria by two goals in Cairo on Saturday.
PUTIN BACKS MEDVEDEV

Putin also for Russian modernisation

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Saturday strongly backed President Dmitry Medvedev's...
HUMAN FAT

Peru accuses four of murder, selling human fat

The fat was purchased - to be commercialized in European (cosmetology) laboratories.
KNOX'S TRIAL TAKES PLACE

Emotion as life term sought for student in Italy

Kercher, Knox's housemate, died from knife wounds to the neck in what the prosecution...
BROWN VISITED FLOODED AREAS

British PM visits scene of massive floods

Brown met flooded-out residents in Cockermouth, northwest England, and emergency services...
4 PILGRIMS DIED BEFORE HAJJ

Saudi reports 4 pilgrim deaths from swine flu

Moroccan woman, a Sudanese man and an Indian man, all aged 75, along with 17-year-old...
KOSOVO

Belgrade snubs Serbs who voted in Kosovo poll

Serbia refuses to recognise the independence of Kosovo, where 90 percent of the population...

ADS
------------------








Copyright © 2006-2009 Javno.com   All rights reserved.