UrBC, Moscow, January 25, 2017. Russia’s alcohol consumption dropped by 1.5 times compared with the year 2009, Rospotrebnadzor’s press service reports.

‘It has been estimated that per capita strong drinks consumption comes to over 10 liters a year (15 liters in 2015). According to the World Health Organization, anything above 8 liters per capita a year is detrimental to a given country’s overall population health,’ the press service says.

The state-run consumer rights watchdog Rospotrebnadzor feels the positive changes have been brought about by additional limits set on the times of the day when and places where alcohol could be sold/purchased, on the customer’s drinking age, and on minimum legal prices for alcohol drinks; besides, a number of advertising bans were also introduced.

Still, even though Russians’ alcohol consumption is down against the year 2009, it is still higher that the WHO’s recommended limit, so more steps need to be taken by the government to decrease the rate of and prevent alcohol-related health problems in 2017-2020.