Tobacco and Alcohol Ruin Europe - World Health Organization

Source from:  The Voice of Russia  03/18/2013

The World Health Organization has made a deplorable conclusion that tobacco and alcohol ruin Europe. These two harmful habits are related to premature death, cardiovascular diseases and cancer among Europeans. Up to 70% of deaths are caused by these two diseases, says the WHO.

According to WHO experts, alcohol intake in the European region is the highest in the world. At the same time, the living standard in Europe, especially in the West is considered as very high. It's quite possible that this is the reason for such a situation, says dean of Financial University's sociology and political science faculty Alexander Shatilov.

"The spread of social hedonism in Europe indirectly promotes "soft" alcoholization because desire for comfort and a pleasant and easy time indirectly promote the intake of alcohol, in some cases even drugs," Alexander Shatilov said.

However, head of the Centre for National Alcohol Policy Pavel Shapkin believes that Europeans' problem of alcohol has not been created by the "fat city".

"The unemployment problem is well-known in Europe and in some countries, it has reached up to 20%. Some countries are on the brink of default and are prompted to take tough measures to cut budget expenses. All this heightens social tension and economic insecurity. Consequently, people drink," Pavel Shapkin said.

Moreover, according to Alexander Shatilov, aggressive marketing also increases the consumption of alcohol. With the assistance of advertisements, the producers of alcohol force people to buy more alcohol.

"As a whole, the consumption of alcohol is promoted by aggressive advertisement that is quite powerful despite all attempts to restrict it. On the other hand, advertisement is creative and affects popular mentality. For example, the majority of European countries consider that it's inappropriate to watch a football match without a bottle of beer in hand," Alexander Shatilov added.

According to the WHO report on the state of healthcare in Europe, Moldova is the biggest guzzler of alcohol among 53 countries. Its alcohol consumption is more than 20 liters per person every year. Luxemburg and Estonia are on the second and third places consecutively. According to the WHO, the consumption of alcohol per person should not exceed 8 liters per year. Further increase will lead to degradation and degeneration.

Historically, the European region of the WHO also includes CIS countries, including the Central Asian states as well as Israel. Enditem