Homemade hooch kills 42,000 Russians a year

[Mucho]

Problem has contributed to troubled country's falling population
Jun. 23, 2006. 11:09 AM
ASSOCIATED PRESS

MOSCOW ? Forty-two thousand Russians die each year from drinking homemade alcohol, the country's interior minister said today, reinforcing concern about high rates of alcohol abuse in Russia.

Rashid Nurgaliyev was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying that the problem ? which has contributed to a sharp decline in Russia's population since the collapse of the Soviet Union ? was a national tragedy.
Homemade alcohol, known as "samogon" in Russian, is common and eau de cologne, aftershave products and cleaning fluids are also drunk.

From 1991 to 2001, alcohol consumption in Russia increased about 40 per cent, according to the World Health Organization.
Russia's population is dropping by about 700,000 a year. Experts attribute the plunge to economic turmoil that has badly hurt the state health care system, leading to a drop in birth rates and life expectancy.

Increased poverty, alcoholism, soaring crime and emigration have also taken their toll. Average life expectancy is just 66 years ? 16 years lower than Japan and 14 years lower than the European Union average.

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[Ika]

good. they deserve it.

 

[junkerman123]

Unfortunately this has always been a massive problem, not really new. It's not too bad within the major cities, not much more drinking going on than in the USA, but in the coutnryside, where the lifestyle is still similar to the 1800s, many of the landowners and laborers are ALWAYS drunk. This is not an exagerration: my father worked out in the countryside quite a bit for his Army training, and has told me that the people that lived there drank and were drunk all the time, every day, every year, 24/7.

There's not much the authorities can do about such cases.

 

[PottedMeat]

what the hell is with it with russian and alcoholism? 66 year expected lifespan in an industrialized nation - there are probably african nations with a higher average than that.

 

[iwantanewcomputer]

in Soviet Russia....just kidding, i won't put you all through that again. seriously, they should have kept commieism

 

[anonymouschris]

on the same note take a look at this vid i found...

http://filecabi.net/video/8junkies.html

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

🙁

 

[junkerman123]

Originally posted by: PottedMeat
what the hell is with it with russian and alcoholism? 66 year expected lifespan in an industrialized nation - there are probably african nations with a higher average than that.

As I said, most modernized Russia doesn't have many more problems than other civilized countries with alcohol (the USA has their own share of alcohol-related deaths that many would balk at). The problems lie in the rural areas of Russia. Believe it or not, the conditions in these areas aren't much different from African countries.

 

[iwantanewcomputer]

Originally posted by: junkerman123

Originally posted by: PottedMeat
what the hell is with it with russian and alcoholism? 66 year expected lifespan in an industrialized nation - there are probably african nations with a higher average than that.

As I said, most modernized Russia doesn't have many more problems than other civilized countries with alcohol (the USA has their own share of alcohol-related deaths that many would balk at). The problems lie in the rural areas of Russia. Believe it or not, the conditions in these areas aren't much different from African countries.

looked it up. highest on continent of afria is Libya: 76.50 yrs