Russia’s Vodka Consumption Down 24% in 2012

2012 was a rough year for Russian vodka producers as the government stepped up efforts to reduce chronic alcoholism and toughened regulations on the sale of vodka.

Now the government is taking the battle a step further after officials declared that Russians drank 24% less vodka in 2012 than the previous year. The next step is to remove small bottles from market shelves, forcing consumers to purchase larger bottles but a higher prices. Officials believe that the smaller bottles are a favorite of alcoholics due to the price as compared to larger bottles.

As reported in RIA Novosti, one proposed regulation is to force regulators to sell 0.375-liter and 0.5-liter bottles at the same price thus forcing the smaller bottles off the market. Many producers distribute bottles that are less than 0.5 liters as a way to get around the government’s minimum price of 174 rubles (approximately 5.30 USD), per half-liter.