MOSCOW, November 24. /TASS/. A total of 9,300 people died from alcohol poisoning in the first three quarters of 2016, the press service of Russia’s Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) said in a statement on Thursday.

"During the first nine months of 2016, over 36,000 cases of acute alcohol poisoning have been recorded in Russia, including 9,300 cases leading to fatalities (25.6%)," the statement reads.

"Most cases involve acute ethanol intoxication (76% of alcohol poisoning cases), however, the number of methanol poisoning cases has been growing in the past few years, with about 1,200 cases recorded annually," the consumer watchdog elaborated.

Besides that, Rospotrebnadzor pointed to the threat posed by online alcohol sales. "Our regional agencies filed more than 600 petitions in courts demanding a ban on any information on online alcohol sales," the press service added. "As a result, around 500 websites have been banned in accordance with court rulings.".