Unlike drinking patterns prevalent in, say, Mediterranean regions—where
wine is regarded as an elixir for enhancing conversation over meals and
other social gatherings, and where public drunkenness carries an
embarrassing stigma—mind-numbing, stupefying binge drinking of hard
spirits is an accepted norm in Russia and greatly increases the danger
of fatal injury through falls, traffic accidents, violent
confrontations, homicide, suicide, and so on. Further, extreme binge
drinking (especially of hard spirits) is associated with stress on the
cardiovascular system and heightened risk of CVD mortality.
How
many Russians are actually drinkers, and how heavily do they actually
drink? Officially, Russia classifies some 7 million out of roughly 120
million persons over 15 years of age, or roughly 6 percent of its adult
population, as heavy drinkers. But the numbers are surely higher than
this. According to data compiled by the World Health Organization, as
of 2003 Russia was Europe’s heaviest per capita spirits consumer; its
reported hard liquor consumption was over four times as high as
Portugal’s, three times that of Germany or Spain, and over two and a
half times higher than that of France.
Sad state
Russia's very real, and very serious, drinking problem.