Head of the European Office of the World Health Organization (WHO) on the prevention of noncommunicable diseases of Kremlin Vikramasingha called Russia an example to imitate in combating smoking and alcohol. He told about it in an interview with Izvestia.
According to Vicaramsingha, there is still a sharp problem, since this is a leading risk factor in Europe. At the same time, he noted that in Russia, and in other countries of Eastern Europe there is a positive dynamics in this area. “When we talk about an integrated approach to the fight against tobacco and alcohol, we give the Russian Federation as an example for imitation,” he stressed.
Vicarama massingha recalled that the recent European office analyzed in detail how the integrated approach of the Russian authorities in the fight against alcohol allowed to achieve a decrease in mortality. In particular, it was possible through the suppression of the handicraft production of alcohol, to increase prices and restriction of its availability, including the ban on sale at night. “We hope that the Russian example will spread to the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union,” the head of the WHO European Office concluded.
In August, it was reported that in 2020 the number of smoking Russians decreased by 1.33 million people compared with 2019. From these Rosstat, it follows that the number of smokers in Russia is declining systematically since 2009.