The idea of Russians who drink vodka in any situation, happy or sad, is still strongly imprinted in the minds of westerners. Russian women seeking men abroad complain about men’s hard drinking, among all other issues of why they cannot find a partner at home. But is alcohol still a problem in Russia?
How much of a problem is alcohol abuse in Russia?
According to statistics and public opinion polls, citizens of Russia are drinking less than before. However, as WCIOM found in a recent survey, addiction to alcohol is still a problem for locals.
- Every second respondent (54%) personally witnessed cases of problems at work due to alcohol.
- 46% of respondents had a personal experience of illnesses or deaths due to alcohol abuse.
- Cases of family conflicts and divorces because of drinking are known personally to 44% of respondents. 51% of survey takers heard about such issues from people they know.
- 42% of respondents reported knowing people who lost work or home because of the drinking issues.
- 39% of locals have seen household injuries because of drinking.
- Traffic accidents because of drivers under influence have been witnessed by 57% of respondents.
- 33% of locals witnessed people breaking the law while inebriated. 56% of the survey participants saw such news in the media.
- 29% of respondents know kids who were left without parents because of alcohol abuse.
- 28% have seen someone poisoned by low-quality spirits (fake alcohol is a big problem in the country, also alcoholics drink anything containing spirit, which may be a liquid used for technical purposes and unsuitable for human consumption).
- 27% of the poll participants personally seen cruelty and domestic violence in families while people were drunk.
- 22% of locals know families where kids were born with defects because of parents’ alcohol addiction. 49% heard about such cases via media sources.
- 20% of survey participants seen traumas and accidents at work due to the person being inebriated.
Lifting the legal age to tackle the problem of abuse
Most respondents support the idea of lifting the legal age of drinking from 18 to 21. 78% of locals support such a move, while 21% dislike this idea.
So, as you can see, the complaints you hear from ladies who live in Russia are based on facts. Even the state-sponsored opinion polls confirm it.
There were 12,276 cases of poisoning by spirits in Russia in 2017 (0.67% of all deaths), according to GKS.ru.
In addition, there were over 15 thousand deaths in traffic accidents, many of them would be due to inebriation. In total, there were 152,741 premature departures from this world (8.3% of all deaths) that were not illness-related in the country in 2017, including all types of accidents.
Consuming alcoholic drinks is habitual and no social gathering or celebration seems complete without it. For instance, the phrase “Let’s celebrate” in Russia basically means “We should have a drink”. The culture needs to change before things are going to become better.
Read also:
- How much Russians drink
- Holidays in Russia: Which ones Russians love to celebrate?
- Top-22 modern Russian icons
- A losing strategy in dating Russian girls
My country is similar.
Numerous contacts broken because I was unwilling to drink with people.
Pity, but better to end a contact than let them do extortion.
Drugs and alcohol are an issue everywhere. Obesity Drugs violence are rampant in the United States. Just part of the ongoing generalized degradation of society. Russian and eastern European women are much more attractive than American women. Why . ? They haven’t been generically diluted as has occurred here. It’s a shame really. But just reality
Get a brain – generically diluted??? You are sick.
I was born in small city. Its population is 5000 citizens. And there alcohol is a huge problem. People drink because they have no entertainment. So all free time they spend with friends drinking strong alcohol. In Moscow I don’t see this problem. People have a choice there: cinema, theatre, gym, swimming pool, park, café, circus and so on.
Bright advertising that promotes expensive alcoholic beverages, as well as not very expensive low-alcohol, brightly imprinted in the immature child’s brain, forcing a child or teenager to try alcohol in the hope that the drink will give the feeling of style and coolness, which allegedly have heroes of advertising. A similar situation has developed not only with alcoholic beverages, but also with tobacco products, as well as with various food products that can hardly be called healthy. Thus, using “dirty” marketing tools, manufacturers of various products that are unable to benefit the health of consumers, impose their products on children… Read more »