- MOSCOW -- The Russian parliament
is poised to introduce new legislation that will ban beer advertising on
television between 7am and 10pm because of growing concerns about the number
of children who have become addicted to alcohol.
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- The new law also prohibits the use in adverts of people,
animals or cartoon figures, and messages that suggest beer will help you
achieve your goals, improve your health or mental capacity or satisfy your
thirst.
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- Beer advertising will also be banned on the front and
back covers of newspapers and magazines.
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- The Duma, the country's lower house, is expected to pass
the law on Thursday.
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- It is a significant step in a country where beer is treated
as only slightly stronger than a soft drink. In Moscow, a clinic to treat
child alcoholics was opened last autumn, and senior health officials say
the number of children under 14 with an addiction - most often to alcohol
- has risen from about 6,300 a decade ago to more than 22,000 today.
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- "Attractive, obsessive and aggressive beer advertising
makes it extremely attractive for consumption," security committee
head, Vladimir Vasilyev, told the Duma.
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- The move comes as beer grows steadily more popular with
Russian drinkers. The average Russian's beer consumption has increased
from 37 litres a year in 1999 to 51 litres in 2003, one of the fastest-growing
markets in the world.
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- In Russia, even beer containing 9-10% alcohol is considered
a light-alcohol drink, and is therefore sold more freely than vodka or
whisky.
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- Beer is available almost everywhere, at any time, and
is a common accessory for both morning commuters and the after-school crowd.
Half-litre bottles, at 20-30 rubles apiece (37-56p), are lined up at fast-food
stalls and in street kiosks alongside bottled water and cartons of fruit
juice.
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- The casual attitude carries over into television advertising.
In one advert, Albert Einstein puzzles over his formula - then drinks a
bottle of beer for inspiration. In another, polar bears celebrate after
ice fishing with ice-cold beer.
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- Brewers have fought against the advertising ban, arguing
that while they are against children drinking, television adverts are not
the real problem.
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- Vyacheslav Mamontov, head of the Russian Brewers' Union
said: "We are in favour of banning the sale of beer to children under
18."
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- He said the Duma is trying to draw attention away from
an unpopular bill replacing social benefits with cash payments, also slated
for passage this week. "Children drinking beer, this is not the problem
of brewers. This is a social problem," he said.
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- Though the ban on advertising is expected to come into
effect shortly, beer will remain widely available. The original legislation,
introduced in 2001, would also have classified beer as a strong alcoholic
drink to make it more difficult to sell, and restricted beer to an alcohol
content of 6%. But that portion of the bill was discarded.
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- Some 2.2 million Russians are registered as having alcohol
problems, and, on average, Russians are estimated to drink about 15 litres
of pure alcohol a head each year, one of the highest rates in the world.
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- Alcohol is thought to be one of the reasons why life
expectancy has fallen to less than 60 since the fall of the Soviet Union,
with some estimates saying one in seven Russians are alcoholics.
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- Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited
2004
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- http://www.guardian.co.uk/russia/article/0,2763,1274766,00.html
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