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Russia: Has drinking fallen by 80% in five years?

Alcohol consumption has fallen sharply according to Russia’s health ministry- we take a look at the figures.

There’s a stereotype of Russia as a nation of vodka-swilling hard drinkers – but is that idea out of date? The Russian health minister told a conference recently that the country’s alcohol consumption there has dropped by 80% in just five years. Can that be true? The ´óÏó´«Ã½ Russian Service’s Georgy Neyaskin has been trying to track down the source of the figures.

Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Beth Sagar-Fenton

(image: People stand next to a shelf with strong drinks in a food store in Moscow. Photo credit Andrey Smirnov/Getty Images)

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9 minutes

Last on

Tue 13 Feb 2018 02:50GMT

Broadcasts

  • Sun 11 Feb 2018 19:50GMT
  • Mon 12 Feb 2018 13:50GMT
  • Tue 13 Feb 2018 02:50GMT

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