Driven by a steep declin­e in the consum­ption of bootle­g boozeMOSCOW: Russia might still have a reputation as a nation of hard drinkers, but a report by the World Health Organization (WHO) published Tuesday showed alcohol consumption has dropped by 43 per cent since 2003. “However, in recent years these trends have been reversed.”NA rejects bill seeking complete ban on alcoholThe study showed a 43 per cent drop in alcohol consumption per capita from 2003 to 2016, driven by a steep decline in the consumption of bootleg booze. Last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev led an anti-alcohol campaign with partial prohibition, which brought down consumption from the mid-1980s until 1990. But after the collapse of the Soviet Union, alcohol consumption exploded, continuing to rise until the start of the 2000s. Earlier WHO figures showed Russian adults now drink less alcohol on average than their French and German counterparts.

Source: The Express Tribune October 01, 2019 06:56 UTC