Russians deny regular vodka consumption

Over half of Russian consumers surveyed in a new poll claimed they had not purchased vodka in the last six months, despite figures showing that 25% of Russian men will die due to vodka consumption.

Over half of Russians surveyed in a recent poll claimed not to have consumed vodka in the past six months

The Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VTsIOM) conducted a poll in February this year asking 1,600 Russian consumers questions about their vodka consumption.

Around 50% of those surveyed said that they have not consumed any vodka in the last six months, instead preferring beer or wine.

Only 2% of participants admitted to drinking vodka or home-brew once a week or more, 7% said they drank the spirit two to three times a month and 11% claimed to drink vodka once a month, while 29% said they consumed the spirit less than once a month.

Cocktails and Cognac were also found to be two of the least popular drinks, with 80% and 60% of those surveyed respectively claiming they had never tried them

These findings come after researchers revealed data from an 11-year-long study showing that that fewer Russian men were dying of alcohol consumption since the implementation of hardened measures in the country, however numbers were still described as “excessively high”.

Researchers from the Russian Cancer Centre in Moscow, Oxford University in the UK, and the World Health Organization in France, gathered data from 151,000 people across three Russian cities – Barnaul, Byisk, and Tomsk.

They found that vodka was still a major cause of “premature” male death in Russia after linking consumption research to data showing that 25% of Russian men will die before the age of 55.

VTsIOM also enquired whether participants would pay more than 199 rubles (US$5.50) for half a litre of vodka, with 37% of respondents saying they would not.

Minimum pricing policy

A minimum price policy for vodka requiring consumers pay at least RUB199 per 500 ml of the spirit came into effect in Russia on Tuesday – a bid by the country’s government to curb excessive alcohol consumption.

VTsIOM found that 21% of those surveyed would be willing to spend between RUB200 and RUB249 per bottle of vodka, while another 14% said they would pay between RUB250 and RUB300 and 9% claimed to be willing to spend more than RUB300 per bottle.

The group also asked what participants believed Russia’s rise in excise taxes would lead to, with the majority (52%) citing a rise in the consumption of “more low quality alcohol and surrogates”, with only 7% claiming the measure would cause “less alcohol diseases”.

A further 39% said higher taxes would “cause more clandestine alcohol to be sold” and 34% said “more deaths would be caused by alcohol poisoning”.

Only 12% of those surveyed said the measure would lead to less alcohol consumption and 10% said it would make alcohol unavailable to minors.

VTsIOM conducted the poll on 15-16 February 2014.