Kazakhstanis drink more alcohol than any other people in Central Asia

    By Vladimir Prokopenko
    Kazakhstan leads in terms of alcohol abuse in Central Asia, Director of Kazakhstan’s National Center for a Healthy Lifestyle Zhamilya Battakova told Tengrinews.kz.
    “According to the World Health Organization, we are indeed in first place in Central Asia. Judging from this year’s reports, each citizen in Kazakhstan drinks 10-12 liters of pure spirits annually. In Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan this value is 2-3 times lower,” Battakova said.
    He added that according to the latest clinical survey, 35 percent of Kazakhstanis drink alcohol and 17 percent abuse it. She noted the government is working to decrease alcohol consumption. The customs regulations of the CU (Customs Union) countries will increase the excise tax on alcohol, and 0.5 liter of vodka will cost up to 1,500 tenge ($10) in Kazakhstan.
    Meanwhile, there are also some positive trends, according to Bakytzhan Nuraliyev, representative from the State Scientific-Practical Center of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Narcology of Kazakhstan Healthcare Ministry.
    He said he believes that alcohol addiction has been falling among teenagers over the last two years. He noted that mosques are working with young people to help promote a negative attitude toward alcohol.
    Nevertheless, according to the expert, the problem of teenagers’ alcohol and drug addiction is still acute in Kazakhstan and alcohol abuse among women has reached and equaled male alcoholism, he added, according to www.tengrinews.kz.