Russia, which is currently at the 4th place in the world ranking of alcohol consumption, has decided to start a war against alcohol by introducing a new law.

According to the Associated Press’ report in January, the Russian government has enacted a new law to change beer’s status from “beverage” to “alcohol” in order to reduce national alcohol consumption.

Under the new law, Russian people will only be allowed to buy beer at restaurants, cafe, or stores with a size of over 50m2. It will be banned for regular stores to sell beer between 11PM and 8AM the following day. Within this time period, people are now allowed to have beer in public spaces, such as parks, beaches, or playgrounds. In addition, the Russian government entirely banned the Russian media from airing alcohol commercials.

So far, Russian people have purchased beer from a small chain of stores on the street called “KIOSK.” However, the sight of people drinking beer on the street will soon be disappearing.

In fact, it is not the first effort to reduce people’s alcohol consumption in Russia. In 2011, Russia’s former president Dmitry Medvedev named Russia’s excessive drinking the “nation’s disaster,” pushing for several regulations in order to curb the alcohol consumption. The Russian government imposed 20 percent increased taxation on beer, and it is planning to further increase the tax by 20 percent this year and then 25 percent more the following year. Russian people’s favorite drink, the vodka, was not exempt from regulatory measures. The price of vodka in Russia has increased by 36 percent this year compared to that of last year.

The excessive alcohol consumption is a deep-rooted problem in Russia. Russian adult men drink between 16-32 liters a year on average, and about 500,000 people die due to alcohol-related problems every year.

According to the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s report last year, the Russians’ alcohol consumption was 15.8L per person on average, which makes the world’s fourth highest consumption level. WTO also added that one out of five men and six percent of the entire Russian women population die because of the excessive alcohol consumption.

The British newspaper Telegraph reported that vodka has been the most popular alcohol in Russia for many years, but beer has caught up with vodka’s popularity in recent years. The newspaper added a quote by the head of the Russian Beer Brewer Association that the new law will increase the consumption of vodka, and cause more serious problems.

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Like most cities, Belfast has had its fair share of troubling statistics and unfortunate public embarrassments when it comes to substance abuse among young adults. Just last week, major universities in the city had circulated emails to their entire student bodies in the run-up to St. Patrick’s Day, with the Student Union President at Queen’s University Belfast writing:

If you happen to be in the University area over the weekend please remember your responsibilities as a member of the South Belfast Community and be aware that as a student of Queen’s you fall under the auspices of the University’s Conduct Regulations.

This type of advisory email followed several years of well-publicised displays of disorderly conduct among a select group of young adults in student housing areas of the city. Years past have seen excessive and unmoderated drinking lead to physical altercations, verbal abuse, graffiti and property damage, police involvement, and consequently the expulsion of several students from their respective university institutions.

As a result, this year students at Queen’s were given a 4-day weekend over St. Patrick’s Day, in the hope that a longer break would encourage some to travel outside the city or to return home, away from the influence of those who were most likely to cause public disturbances. This measure seems to have been relatively effective, with The Irish Times reporting:

A substantial police presence, together with a zero-tolerance approach to on-street drinking, appeared to keep the situation under control.

On Friday, eight people were arrested in the area for a range of anti-social behaviour. But by 9.30pm yesterday, the streets of the Holyland, although littered with broken glass, were quiet and virtually empty, with just a few house parties going on behind closed doors.

Unfortunately, 2012 has already seen alcohol-related tragedy among the youth community. In February, 20-year old Joby Murphy accidentally fell into the River Lagan due to poor safety measures at the Lagan Weir bridge.

Murphy had attended a Snow Patrol concert that same night, and then drank £1 vodka shots prior to his fall, leading to his father getting involved with a campaign to ban certain drinks promotions around the city, namely ones that offer ‘All You Can Drink’ deals at significantly reduced prices. Such deals are common in Belfast bars and clubs frequented by students, and it is thought that banning them would go some way to discouraging young adults from binge drinking.

However, some have criticised such a proposition for being an ineffective way to teach young adults about the dangers of alcohol. The general mentality is, if someone wants to find alcohol at a cheap price then they will not have to look very far to find some.

Facebook even offers ‘Dial A Drink’ services, where businesses will deliver alcohol straight to your doorstep without ensuring that no minors in the house will be drinking, so it is clear that Belfast, like so many other UK cities, has not yet figured out how to measurably regulate alcohol consumption among younger people.

Murphy’s father is still pushing ahead with hopes of making the Lagan Weir bridge more secure and better equipped to deal with accidental falls, but at the moment he seems to be one active voice facing a larger community deaf to the seriousness of this drinking subculture.

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Newly released data that looks at the drinking patterns of more than 200,000 criminal offenders monitored 24/7 for alcohol consumption shows that even when Big Brother is watching, drinking increases nearly 27% between Thanksgiving and January 2nd.

Denver-based Alcohol Monitoring Systems, Inc., (AMS) has monitored more than 200,000 criminal offenders since 2003 using a technology that tests your perspiration every 30 minutes, 24/7, to ensure clients are abstaining from alcohol. According to AMS, the rate of daily violations for offenders monitored with their technology jumps a whopping 27% during the holiday season.

AMS Chairman and CEO Mike Iiams says that the trending highlights how the pressures — and the pleasures — of the holiday season are difficult for everyone. “Whether it’s your in-laws or the economy or just temptations at the office party, the fact that we see such a statistically significant increase in violations for a group of people who are being tested — and know they are being tested — every 30 minutes for drinking underscores just how difficult an issue this is,” says Iiams.

Larry Vanderwoude, LCDC, CEO of Dallas-based Recovery Healthcare, agrees. “Emotions run very high during the holiday season, especially when it comes to meeting family expectations. And the natural coping skill for the alcoholic is to drink,” says Vanderwoude. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that two to three times more people are killed by drunk drivers during the holidays than any other time during the year.

According to AMS, which has monitored offenders in 48 states with its SCRAMx System (for Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor), as the company enters its 8th year providing monitoring during the holiday season, the courts seem to have two approaches for addressing the social and behavioral issues that go hand-in-hand with the holiday season.

“Some programs, usually dealing with lower risk offenders, may opt to give people a break during the holidays, lightening up on some requirements or delaying them until after the first of the year,” says Iiams. “But each year, the courts dealing with the highest risk alcohol offenders clamp down even harder on the drinking during the holidays,” he says.

“They know if these offenders aren’t drinking, then they’re not drinking and driving, and they’re not drinking and abusing a spouse or child,” he adds. According to the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, 75% of cases of domestic violence involve an offender who was drunk at the time of the offense.

To Iiams, their data trending, which is based on more than 18 million alcohol tests, serves as a cautionary tale for both courts and communities. “These are the hardcore drinkers who know they’re going to get caught and that there will be consequences, and they’re still struggling not to drink during the holidays. Imagine what’s happening with the ones who know they can get away with it,” he says.

Vanderwoude, whose company has monitored more than 17,000 offenders in Texas and Oklahoma with the SCRAMx System, says that the intensive monitoring they provide during the holidays can actually provide a sense of security for both the courts and even many of their clients. “It’s a type of safety net, working to deter relapse during the hardest time of the year,” he says.

“The ones that drink get caught, and there can be a sense of relief in knowing that for people who really struggle with addiction. But the ones that stay sober through the season often report that it’s the most rewarding and cherished holiday of their life,” he adds.

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