Death by Alcohol in Russia - Taxation NOT the Answer

There was an article by Fox News published this week showing results from a study on cause of death in Russia in the era following the Soviet collapse. The study concluded that 50% of deaths in Russia are caused by alcoholism; a truly astonishing figure. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev recently called alcoholism a "national disaster" for the country.
Some of the other published results include:

• The average Russian drinks 50 bottles of vodka a year


• The average Russian male lives to be 60 years old, dying 15 years earlier than his American counterpart.


• Russian women die 13 years earlier than American women.

The story goes on however to say the problem is that Russia does not tax their alcohol and cigarettes like we do in the U.S., and if they DID it would limit the number of deaths attributed to drug and alcohol abuse. Taxation is not the answer, and lack of taxation is not the problem.

If Russian alcohol had the same taxes placed on it as in America, it would simply make the poor poorer, and government groups richer. Alcoholism in Russia is a societal problem at large, and one that should be addressed: First with better education than they have tried before, then offer progressive social programs to address the actual causes of alcoholism (such as depression, addictive behaviors, lifestyles), then stricter laws (including actual enforcement of a min. drinking age of 18), then purity laws on favorite liquors (vodka), and then, finally, taxation.

If the issue is so ingrained in Russian life, a gradual change of course is the way to go. Placing major new taxes on liquor right now will only generate disdain towards the government and even more hardship of the general populace. It could then lead to more depression and an increased shift towards cheaper and more devastating vices.

Another thought is that many of Russia's alcoholics wouldn't be effected by taxes anyway; so long as they continue distilling their own liquor. That's where education and social programs would have to lesson the problem, but it would be over the course of generations.

Sadly, there seems to be no apparent "quick fix" to the problem. If any pharma company is looking to begin human trials of an anti-dependence medication, it looks like Russia is the place to start.

What do you think?