Boozing has almost halved compared to 13 years ago, health ministry data reveals
Alcohol products department at a supermarket in Moscow. © Sputnik / Vladimir Astapkovich
Alcohol consumption in Russia has decreased by nearly 43% since 2008, Russian Minister of Health Mikhail Murashko announced on Saturday, as the country celebrated National Sobriety Day.
An average Russian drank 15.7 liters of booze annually 13 years ago but, last year, this marker stood at only nine liters, Murashko said.
This means that “alcohol consumption has dropped by almost 43% between 2008 and 2021,” he explained.
The number of alcohol-related diseases and deaths has also gone down in Russia during the 13-year period, the minister added.
He noted that drinking was the reason for various health complications, saying that “every second death from cardiomyopathy and myocarditis is associated with harmful alcohol consumption.”
Liquor causes “pronounced changes to the human system that lead to dystrophic and sclerotic changes in muscles and internal organs, especially the liver and brain,” Murashko said.
According to data from early 2022, the global average annual consumption of alcohol stood at 6.18 liters per person.
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The nation that drinks the most alcohol was the Seychelles, with an average resident there drinking almost 21 liters of booze every year. It was followed by the Czech Republic, where the consumption reached 14.45 liters per person. Such countries as Germany and Spain were also on the top ten list, with the marker there being at over 12 liters per year.
