President Dmitry Medvedev on Sept. 11, 2009 approved a list of orders to combat alcoholism and asked the government to implement them.
Prior to November 1, 2009, Medvedev demanded amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses — increasing the penalty for selling alcohol to minors, restricting the sale of beer and mixed drinks near children's and sports facilities, as well as at kiosks and in small shops, and making a number of additional restrictions on advertising.
Most of these measures were meant to have been implemented by the end of last year, but none of the bills have been adopted yet. Most initiatives proposed by the president were brought in immediately by United Russia.
However, for example, a bill to ban advertising of beer (proposed on Nov. 24) was rejected by the government because it had no evidence of “the ineffectiveness of existing regulations on the advertising of beer and beer-based drinks,” the conclusion emphasized.
Furthermore, a bill restricting the sale of low-alcohol beverages in public places was sent to a specialist economic committee for revision last week — the definition of the term “public events” was not considered clear enough.
Vedomosti
