MOSCOW, September 24 (RIA Novosti) - Alcohol...
"In Russia, each person, including babies, accounts for about 18 liters of spirits per year. In the opinion of WHO experts, consumption of more than 8 liters per year poses a real threat to the health of the nation. Russia has long exceeded this level," Rashid Nurgaliyev said.
He also said that alcohol abuse was increasingly affecting young people.
"The average age of people committing themselves to drinking alcohol has come down from 16 to 13 years. The total number of children aged 10-14 who drink alcoholic spirits rose 15.4% in 2008 (10.85 million)," he said.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the government on September 11 to prepare draft laws on his package of measures to counter alcohol abuse.
On August 12, the president said that measures taken so far to curb alcohol abuse and other addictions in the country had been insufficient, and ordered the government to develop new rules for the sale of alcohol.