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Belarusian Christian Democracy calls for banning alcohol ads, restricting alcohol sale

Belarusian Christian Democracy (BCD) calls on the government to restrict the retail sale of alcohol and ban its advertising, BCD activist Volha Kavalkova said during a news conference in Minsk on Thursday.

According to her, the party sent its proposals to governmental agencies several months ago. They promised to consider them but never provided a reply.

“Of course, it’s good that some restrictive measures are being introduced,” Ms. Kavalkova said. “But they will not produce any effect by themselves, while alcoholic products are advertised, for example.”

Belarusian Christian Democracy suggests that charity organizations helping alcohol addicts and their families should be provided with offices on favorable terms, Ms. Kavalkova said. The party calls for banning the retail sale of alcohol between 10 p.m. and 11 a.m. as well as any advertising of alcohol, and allowing retail outlets other than liquor stores to sell spirits only through special departments with separate doors, she said.

BCD Co-chairman Vital Rymashewski said that the party had already collected several thousand signatures in support of its proposals and was planning to gather tens of thousands of signatures in Minsk alone. In addition, the party will launch an online petition within the framework of its campaign, he said. “We hope that the authorities will stop doing everything possible to make people addicted to alcohol,” Mr. Rymashewski said.

Belarus ranks first in the world in terms of per capita alcohol consumption in a report released by the World Health Organization on May 12.

Belarus tops the list with an annual per capita consumption of 17.5 liters of alcohol.

According to the report, Belarus` men annually consume 27.5 liters of alcohol on the average, while women`s per capita consumption is 9.1 liters. //BelaPAN