IS RUSSIA POISONING HER PEOPLE ?

Top 10 in Deaths by Poison

9 out of 10 countries are
former members of the Soviet Union

Poisoning is the fourth leading cause of death in Russia. According to the World Health Organization there are more deaths by poison in Russia than by traffic accidents and 9 out of the top 10 countries in death rate by poison are former members of the Soviet Union. This is serious stuff because the vast majority of these deaths are among their male population and Russia has the largest gap between male and female life expectancy in the world, 14 years, and their deaths have out numbered their births by such a wide margin for such a long period of time they have a serious declining population problem.

What is this poison problem? You guessed it... Alcohol. Only in Russia would they try to make it look like something else. Playing with the Alcohol Statistics they provide to the WHO when even President Medvedev calls Russia's Alcohol problem a "National Disaster," makes no sense. The entire world already knows they have a serious problem, perhaps it is time to put a name on this poison and Vodka might be a good place to start.

How serious is Russia's Alcohol "Poison" problem? The World Health Organization estimates that just 40% of school age Russians will live to the Pension age of 55-60, if something isn't done about the probem. Some doctors in their country believe alcohol related diseases cause as many as 50% of Russian deaths between the ages of 15 and 54, making alcohol related deaths a key factor in their long term demographic forecasts. Russian Health Minister Golikova was recently quoted as saying, "We are the absolute world leader in Alcohol consumption." Few people inside or outside Russia would disagree with Minister Golikova's point of view, so why is Russia one of the few countries in the world that report Alcohol death statistics to the World Health Organization that have no relationship to consumption...masking a problem the entire world already knows they have makes little sense, but Alcohol problems on this scale are embarrassing and reduce her credibility as a major player on the world stage.

SOME RUSSIANS USE VODKA LIKE WATER

Vodka is the main problem and when you understand that the name is a diminutive form of the word "Voda"--Russian for Water, you can begin to see the grip it has on the Russian culture. Statistics differ on the amount they consume, but the most credible are that the average Russian consumes 4.75 Gallons of pure alcohol per year, most of it Vodka. Everybody enjoys sipping a glass of good Russian Vodka from time to time. Russians don't sip it and enjoying it is beside the point, they drink it to get drunk. A few years ago, a provincial drinking contest left most of the contestants in the Hospital and the winner died before he could claim his prize. The grip Alcohol has on the country is so powerful one study claims that Russians have even been known to drink as much as 85% of the country's industrial alcohol output...research published in the Lancet found that Russians drinking alcohol not intended for human consumption, such as perfume and cleaning agents, were nine times more likely to die prematurely than if the they drank beverage alcohol.

In a March 2010 report in the New York Times, Moscow — "A pilot's drunkenness was a contributing cause of a commercial airline crash in Russia in 2008, Russian prosecutors said Monday." Imagine the impact it has on car accidents, suicides, violence, marriages, domestic abuse, fertility and everything else.

Russia's Alcohol Death Rate Ranking is not considered high
and is not credible when compared to consumption data

Things are changing in Russia. They are beginning to be more open and that's a good thing because they're good people and the world needs their brilliant minds, love of the arts and I suppose a bit of her oil too. New president Medvedev said recently, "Alcohol is our country's National Disaster" and to their credit he and Prime Minister Putin have launched a serious campaign to turn things around. But this is a steep hill even for Russians to climb. Alcohol deaths have been a national secret in Russia for a long time. They have devastated Russian society, claiming the deaths of millions during what should have been the most productive years of their lives. By some estimates alcohol was responsible for 500,000 deaths last year alone.

President Medvedev called it "Mind Boggling" recently, and he also said when I think about it, it tears at "My Soul." We strongly believe giving that "Poison" a name when they turn their data into the World Health Organization would be a big step in the right direction. Tom LeDuc