It's amazing what a person learns each day, even the fact that up until Wednesday beer in Russia wasn't considered an alcoholic beverage because it contained less than 10% of alcohol. The President of Russia has now signed a bill to regulate beer the same way vodka is, somewhat strictly (at least compared to what they're used to). Before, beer could be consumed the same way we consume soda or water. The bill won't take effect until 2013, and once that comes beer will not be sold just anywhere, like gas stations and airports. It also won't be sold between the hours of 11pm and 8am.
A reason for this new regulation is due to the extremely high alcohol consumption in Russia, which according to the Global Post:
is twice the critical level set by the World Health Organization.
So the party is over for Russians, but let's hope that this new regulation will decrease alcohol consumption within the country.
Are you surprised that it took Russia this long to declare beer alcohol?[via
Global Post]
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Comments (27)
Pfft. Real Ruskies drink vodka anyway.
In Soviet Russia, you get beer drunk!
What the FAAAACK! I TOTALLY posted on the SAME EXACT TOPIC on healthkicker!! Damn you, author, for beating me to the publish...(? does that sentence even make sense? It doesn't really....not to me, at least)... But STILL!! GAAAAAHHH!!! I shake my fist in .... *deflates* I dunno what... but I'm kinda sad....
Yeah, the Russians are pretty hardcore when it comes to swilling.
lol oh my..
LOL
Somehow, I'm not that surprised.
This is bringing to mind a scene from the original Star Trek, where Chekov tells Scott that Scotch "was invented by a little old lady from Leningrad." Sounds as though the producers had the Russian attitude toward alcohol nailed pretty good, based on this entry.
@StatelessPilot@revelife - "Americans have, on average, a shorter life expectancy than Russians."
That is not true.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy
@lifeonacitybusem4@xanga - I stand corrected. I've always heard that the US had the lowest life expectancy of any developed country, but I guess not. And the last time I checked life expectancy in the US was high 60s to low 70s. Since when did it jump to 78?
However, there are still dozens of countries with higher life expectancy than the US that also drink the US under the table, suggesting little to no correlation between drinking and life expectancy. Oh well, America is still the shit tank of the western world and I'm still proud to not be American.
Yeah... this surprises me, despite the fact that I live in a pretty Russian area of the US. I've never heard from my Russian friends that beer wasn't officially considered an alcoholic drink.
I think it's a good move on Russia's part but it will take decades for it to really go into effect... Russians probably aren't willing to abide by the new rules when they've already been living by their own ones for years.
@StatelessPilot@revelife - The really heavy consumers of alcohol seem to be doing quite poorly, actually.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_alcohol_consumption
Anyway, I understand that you hate America. How could I miss that? It's practically all you talk about.
@lifeonacitybusem4@xanga - There are other factors involved as well. Less developed countries will of course have lower life expectancies than first-world countries, alcohol consumption aside. Many of the countries higher up on the list are less developed than those lower on the list.
Not that I'm really fazed by any of this. I'm still going to have my alcohol and drink it too. None of that will stop me from having my 2-4 drinks per day. If it kills me, oh well, I don't really care. I'd rather die young and happy than old and miserable.
My Russian boss once told me "Beer without vodka is wasted money"
Man, how lame.
Не очень хорошо.
east europe is getting fucked by eastern europe
That's awesome. Or well...WAS awesome.
LOLOLOL.
God my own people disgust me. Saw a documentary not too long ago (Russian Documentary) on how little shops a block away from schools would sell beer to the children. Not just one little shop, but thousands doing that exact same thing.
American is a free country and you're welcome to pick your poison, but alcohol is disgusting in my opinion. I'm glad my people got at least some sense about it, though I'd say it's about 30 years late.
I really don't see the point in regulating when beer can be sold. Isn't that legislating morality? Like how I can't buy booze on Sunday- why the hell not?
HAHA Russia...
Even HERE beer is sold in gas stations though. Weird.
Hilarious. Oh Russia...
Amusing.