A bill raising the legal drinking age from 18 to 21 was introduced in the State Duma on Thursday, the latest measure in the authorities' fight with alcoholism in the country.
Laws passed in recent years have banned nighttime alcohol sales, put severe restrictions on alcohol advertising, reduced the number of shops allowed to sell spirits and increased liquor prices.
Yevgeny Bryun, the Health Ministry's chief drug-addiction expert, said last month that such measures have already helped to reduce the amount of alcohol sales by a third over the past two years.
(MT)
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