Russian Alcohol Abuse

After all of the fun class discussion about Russia’s relationship with водка, it is interesting to look at this common pastime’s impact on the nation’s health. According to the Central Intelligence Agency, as of 2014, Russian men are expected to live to the ripe old age of about 64, being surpassed by women who are expected to live until their mid-70’s. This death-age gap is found in the United States as well, with women living about 82 years and men only 77. The important thing to note, though, is that men in the United States are, on average, living more than ten years longer than Russian men. Many attribute this drastic difference to the prevalence of alcohol abuse in Russia. It is well known that one of the leading causes of liver disease is alcohol abuse and binge drinking; partnered with the fact that the mortality rate due to alcohol (in 2010) was 20 times higher than in other European countries, it can be seen that Russia has a serious alcohol problem.