The decision of the authorities of the capital of Tyva, Kyzyl, to ban the sale of alcohol from May 1 to May 10 will reduce the level of antisocial behavior, especially at night, but will not lead to a decrease in alcohol consumption, says Oleg Zykov, director of the Institute of Narcological Health of the Nation.
“The Kyzyl authorities did not come up with an original way to reduce alcohol consumption, it was repeated many times in different territories of Russia. It is well known that this reduces the level of antisocial behavior, usually at night. As for the volume of consumption, such bans do not decrease, and sometimes the effect is the opposite, ”he said in an interview with Izvestia on Tuesday, April 27.
Zykov said that informed people stock up on alcohol in advance in large quantities and, as a result, drink their entire supply, which is even more in volume than it could have been with the permitted sale.
“By prohibiting the circulation of some chemical substance, including in our country a legal drug – alcohol, human problems are not solved, but most likely even increase. From the point of view of the dynamics of the criminal behavior of people, limiting the sale of alcohol at night or in other periods of time can really reduce the level of evening and night crime, and there are such statistics, ”the expert concluded.
The decision of the Kyzyl authorities became known earlier on Tuesday. In addition to the ban on the sale of alcohol, those who are going to take part in the festive events on the occasion of Spring and Labor Day and Victory Day were prohibited from bringing alcoholic beverages with them.
On April 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on non-working days between May holidays. The head of Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova, approached him with a similar proposal. At a meeting with the head of state, she explained that the decision on days off could allow “to make the epidemiological forecast more stable,” with which the president agreed.
On the same day, the presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that some of the enterprises will continue to work during this period.
