Kazakhstan consumes most alcohol in Central Asia - parliamentarian
ASTANA. Jan 30 (Interfax) - Kazakh parliamentarian Yergen Doshayev said he is concerned about the fact that the republic's residents are now consuming more alcohol.
"Every citizen of our country consumes almost 11 liters of pure ethyl alcohol or some fifty 500 gram bottles of vodka a year. This makes Kazakhstan the highest drinking country in Central Asia," Doshayev told the plenary session of the parliament while reading his parliamentary inquiry regarding "the considerable increase in alcohol consumption" in Kazakhstan, which was addressed to Kazakh Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov.
"The World Health Organization is conducting special studies in 188 countries to determine the level of alcohol consumption on the planet. Kazakhstan ranks 34th of the 2011 rating," the parliamentarian said.
By way of comparison, the parliamentarian mentioned Kyrgyzstan, which he says ranks 106th, Turkmenistan (114), Uzbekistan (131), and Tajikistan (134).
"Even the neighboring China with its 1.5 billion population ranks 95th in the amount of alcohol consumed," he said.
WHO experts believe the most effective and widespread method for fighting this social evil is economic measures.
The parliamentarian said alcohol should be made expensive and inaccessible to people, especially young people, by increasing the excise duties on alcohol.
"It's a vital issue to us. Kazakhstan now has the cheapest vodka in the Customs Union," he said.