The fact that the Russians are not so drunkards, as is commonly believed in the West, has recently begun to speak. Now in the hands of sociologists were the results of a new study that refuted the stereotype. It was dedicated to the tenth anniversary of the famous brand of pain medication. The task of sociologists was to determine in which countries people most often suffer from withdrawal symptoms and struggle with headaches through drugs. The Irish took the palm in this area.
Question: “Have you experienced a hangover during the last month?” – asked respondents in 20 countries of Europe. The most hangover nation was the Irish. 36% of them admitted that during the last month they had abused alcohol at least once and were sick because of this the next morning.
Second place in the ranking was given to Finland. There, 25% of the population complained of a hangover.
As for the Russians, they took only third place. Of these, only 24% are bodunite. Immediately after us on the “hangover” are the British. In foggy Albion, 23% of the population suffers from headaches every month.
The happiest against this background are the Germans and the French. Only 10% of the inhabitants of Germany and 8% of France regularly suffer from a hangover, the rest claim that they do not remember when it was with them for the last time.
It is worth noting that in the UK the problem of a hangover is really quite acute. Withdrawal withdrawal is the main reason why the British take sick leave.
This is the data of another survey commissioned by Unum Insurance Company. Of the 500 respondents, one in five admitted that they did not go to work due to a lack of willpower. And most often after a stormy night, residents of Scotland lie down.
Moreover, in 2005 and 2006 in the UK more than 180 thousand people aged 16 and over were hospitalized with diagnoses directly related to alcohol consumption. According to doctors, over the past 10 years, this figure has doubled.
In early December, another study found that a hangover for British employees during the Christmas holidays would cost £ 790 million, as people who are tormented by thirst and headaches cannot work effectively.
The UK is not the only country whose economy is damaged by alcohol. In 2005, the World Bank published a report according to which over the next 50 years the population of Russia could be reduced by a third.
In 1992, the population of Russia was 149 million people, and as of 2003 it decreased by 4% (6 million) to 143 million people.
In the structure of the Russian population, there is a decrease in the share of youth and an increase in the share of people aged 60 and older. At the same time, the two main factors affecting the life expectancy of men are smoking and alcohol consumption.
“If these trends continue over the next 50 years, we can expect a further decrease in the country’s population by more than 30%, since all indicators of demographic processes indicate that Russia will face further serious changes in population dynamics,” the report said.
At the same time, recent data showed that the Russians began to drink more civilized. From strong drinks they switch to low alcohol cocktails. In 2006, sales of vodka decreased by 3.9% to 175.6 million decalitres (in monetary terms, increased by 11.2% to $ 11.3 billion). In total, since 2000, the indicator has fallen by 15%.
Euromonitor experts predict that sales of vodka in Russia will be reduced by 3.9–4.9% annually and by the end of 2011 will amount to about 140.5 million decalitres (a decrease of 20%).
Manufacturers of low alcohol cocktails and beer are now feeling the best on the Russian market. The sales of cocktails for the previous year grew by 17% to 54.7 million decaliters (in monetary terms by 33.8% to $ 1.8 billion), and beer – by 10.4% in kind to 968 million decalitres (in monetary terms) – by 22% to $ 16.4 billion).
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