OREANDA-NEWS. May 3, 2012. The Prosecutor General of Belarus has voiced a proposal to tighten the screws on alcohol production and turnover following reports that vodka sales grew 18% in 2011 in comparison with the 2010 level.

The Prosecutor General forwarded a letter to the Prime-Minister of Belarus in a bid to prevent large-scale alcohol abuse in the country.

According to the prosecutor’s office, almost 2% of Belarus’ population (mostly people of active working age) abuse alcohol and stay away from work – a fact that does not contribute to demographic improvement. Scientific studies show that an increase in alcohol consumption leads to higher mortality rates: an increase in per capita alcohol consumption by 1 litres produces a 2.6% growth in the death rate. Accidental cases of alcoholic poisoning costs Belarus 2,500 human lives annually. In 2011 alone over 1,500 people died in Belarus as a result of alcohol abuse.

The Prosecutor General has encouraged the government to think about incentives aimed at reducing alcohol consumption, reducing output of low-quality cheap wine (reinforced fruit wines) in order to stop producing that sort of alcoholic beverages by 2016 altogether.

The Prosecutor suggests a bill to ban retail trade in alcohol at nighttime, and prohibit selling alcohol to people under 21.

In order to restrict access to alcohol and prevent alcohol consumption, the Prosecutor suggests raising excise taxes on hard liquors, low-alcohol beverages and beer.