Journal de l'alcoolisme et de la toxicomanie
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Hazardous Drinking among Rural Residents in Belarus

Yury E Razvodovsky, Andrew Stickley and Ai Koyanagi

We present the results of a study conducted in the province of Grodno, Belarus in 2012 that examined alcohol use and hazardous drinking-binge drinking and illicit alcohol consumption-among the rural population. Information was obtained from 502 respondents (253 men and 249 women) aged 18-70 years using a structured interview. Binge drinking was widespread among men, and also common among women: 78.8% of men and 36.1% of women reported drinking an equivalent of 150 ml of vodka or more at one sitting. The most frequently used illicit alcoholic beverage was samogon, which was consumed by 79.5% of men and 42.3% of women. In addition, 10.3% of men and 1.5% of women consumed alcohol surrogates, most commonly, industrial alcohol and alcohol-containing medicinal preparations. These results highlight the high level of hazardous drinking in the Belarusian countryside and emphasize the need for a comprehensive alcohol policy in this setting.