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Russians cut down on smoking and drinking, says health minister

The general alcohol consumption has reduced by 13.5% between 2012 and 2016

© Alexander Ryumin/TASS

MOSCOW, June 8. /TASS/. The level of alcohol and tobacco consumption in Russia has sizably declined, Russian Minister of Health Veronika Skvortsova told a European session on non-infectious diseases of the World Health Organization.

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"Consistent work in this direction has let us reduce the general alcohol consumption measured in equivalent liters of pure ethanol consumption per capita by 13.5% between 2012 and 2016, according to early figures, and increase the number of people systematically engaging in physical training and sports by 18%," Skvortsova said.

The minister also said that according to global research, tobacco consumption in Russia declined from 39.4% in 2009 to 30.9% in 2016. "Due to the taken measures, passive smoking also declined from 35% to 21.9%," she added, noting that these figures confirm the correctness of Russia’s policy on tobacco and alcohol.

"From 2014 to 2015, the number of smoking minors has dropped more than three times," the healthcare minister emphasized.

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