Original scientific paper
Use of alcohol and surrogates by residents of a typical Belarus city
Yury E. Razvodovsky
; Grodno State Medical University, Grodno, Belarus
Abstract
Presented in this paper are the results of a survey conducted in
2012 in Grodno city (Belarus), the purpose of which was to study the prevalence
and pattern of alcohol and surrogates consumption among the urban
population. Using a structured interview, including questions regarding the
prevalence of the use of alcohol and surrogates, as well as the motives of its
use, 655 residents (329 men and 326 women) were surveyed in Grodno.
According to the results of the survey the most popular unlicensed alcoholic
beverages are homemade wine and samogon, which is consumed periodically
by 31.7% of men and 9.9% of women. The conviction that the quality
of samogon exceeds that of licensed vodka is the main motive for the use of
samogon. In addition, 5.0% of men and 1.9% of women periodically consume
alcohol surrogates, the most popular of these being industrial alcohol
and alcohol-containing medicinal preparations. The data presented suggests
the existence of an underground market of noncommercial alcohol in
Belarus. The results from this study emphasize the urgency of implementing
comprehensive alcohol policy, which need to address overall consumption,
harmful drinking pattern and taking into account the consumption of
alcohol from illicit sources.
Keywords
alcohol; surrogates; prevalence; drinking pattern; urban population; Belarus
Hrčak ID:
136736
URI
Publication date:
15.7.2014.
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