Moscow (AFP)
Russians' alcohol consumption dropped by 43% between 2003 and 2016, leading to an increase in life expectancy, according to the WHO, the result of an aggressive campaign for a healthy lifestyle carried by the authorities.
"The Russian Federation has long been considered one of the world's most drinkable countries," says a report by the World Health Organization (WHO), which recalls that alcohol has been a major contributor to excess mortality since the 1990s and the demographic crisis that followed the fall of the Soviet Union.
"In recent years, these trends have been reversed," says WHO.
Russia has some 146.5 million inhabitants, five million fewer than in 1991. This drop is mainly due to the deterioration of living conditions which has led to both an increase in mortality, in particular for men, and a birth crisis.
But according to the WHO, adults in Russia now drink less on average than the French or Germans.
- Strict rules -
According to the authors of the report, the decline in alcohol consumption contributed to the increase in life expectancy, which reached a record level in 2018, reaching 78 years for women and 68 years for women. men.
In the early 1990s, men's life expectancy was only 57, when women's life was just 71, according to official statistics.
Under Vladimir Putin, in power in Russia for 20 years, the country has gradually introduced restrictions on spirits, especially vodka, such as banning the sale of the most alcoholic beverages in stores after 23:00.
The minimum retail price for spirits has also risen drastically, while advertising has been banned and the ban on sales to minors has been very strictly enforced.
President Putin, a black belt of judo that readily displays its sporting character, has made promoting a healthy lifestyle and boosting population a priority. His image contrasts with that of his predecessor Boris Yeltsin, whose alcoholic escapades traveled around the world in the 1990s.
In a Moscow bar, consumers confirm that the report of Russians to alcohol has indeed changed.
- tobacco too -
"The bars have become more civilized, and people do not drink until the end of the night," says AFP Roman Petchnikov, a 38-year-old computer scientist.
"In fact, we drink less now, at least some of us", admits 28-year-old bank employee Alexander Soukhontsev, explaining that people have "no time" because of their schedules loaded.
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev had also launched a very unpopular campaign against alcoholism, partially banning the sale of spirits in the mid-1980s. But after the fall of the USSR in 1991, alcohol consumption exploded and continued to grow until the early 2000s.
In addition to the fight against alcoholism, the Russian authorities have also launched a vast campaign against smoking, banning it in closed public places but also in some outdoor areas such as many parks. From 1 October it will even be forbidden to smoke on its balcony. The number of outlets has also been drastically reduced.
The effect is felt: tobacco consumption has fallen by more than 20% between 2009 and 2016, even though 30% of Russians remain smokers, according to the latest Global Adult Tobacco Survey.
In addition to these policies aimed at mortality and in order to revive demography, the Russian government is also trying to influence the birth rate, particularly with a more incentive-based family allowance program.
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© 2019 AFP