The Associated Press
Date: Friday Jan. 1, 2010 10:37 AM ET
MOSCOW — The Russian government has set a minimum price for vodka that more
than doubles the cost of the cheapest vodka on the market in an effort to fight
rampant alcoholism.
The measure also is aimed at reducing the extraordinary number of deaths caused
by drinking in Russia.
The minimum price of 89 rubles ($3) for a half litre of vodka went into effect Friday,
the start of the 12-day New Year's and Orthodox Christmas holiday, when alcohol
consumption is at its highest.
President Dmitry Medvedev has publicly decried Russia's drinking problem and its
effect on the nation's well being.
A study published last year in The Lancet medical journal said drinking has caused
more than half of deaths among Russians aged 15 to 54 since the 1991 Soviet collapse.
In this photo taken Thursday, Dec. 31, 2009, from left, Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev, Federal Security Service chief Alexander Bortnikov and Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin clink glasses during an informal meeting of the Security Council
members on New Year eve in Moscow.
(AP / RIA Novosti, Mikhail Klimentyev, Presidential Press Service)
Новости про водку (+) -- victor -- 01.01.10@20:56 (Чит.: 230)