Saturday, June 16, 2007

Risking death


Russian men are risking death by drinking aftershave and cleaning agents, a study has suggested. UK researchers estimated that half of all deaths in working age men in the country are due to hazardous drinking. The products, which also include herbal tinctures sold in pharmacies, are widely available, cheap and contain up to 97% alcohol, the Lancet study says. It was found that they contain very few toxins but are deadly simply because of the extreme alcohol levels.
Russian men have an "exceptionally low" life expectancy of 59 years, compared with 72 years for women. Men of working age are three-and-a-half times more likely to die than men in Britain. Past studies have shown levels of alcohol consumption among the Russian population, where spirits such as vodka are popular, are high.
But the team at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine wanted to take into account non-beverage alcohol.Lead researcher Professor David Leon said: "We're talking about things like eau de cologne and aftershave which are widely available at kiosks and cheaper because they are not subject to excise duty. "The important work we have done is the toxicology and with many of these products all that's in them is water and ethanol and something to make them smell a bit - people are dying because of the concentration of alcohol in a cheap, readily available form. "They should be more strictly regulated." He said the toll might be even higher as his work only concentrated on men who lived with their families.( from BBC NEWS ) (thanks to Juck )

No comments:

Post a Comment