Why Russian Men Don't Live as Long

Summary:
According to research Russians typically have a lower life expectancy. A Russian man has a 25% chance of dying before the age of 55 which is extremely low compared to other developed countries. Recent research of two large studies have suggested that the main cause of this difference is vodka. Russians love their vodka as much as they love their cigarettes. Russians typically drink more frequently than other men in other countries. Not only do they drink more frequently but they also tend to keep drinking after they reach the point of drunkenness. Male smokers who reported drinking three or more half liter bottles of vodka per week had a substantially higher risk of death than those that reported drinking one bottle or less per week. Recent price increases as well as a crackdown on black market sales have cut sales down to a third.

Analysis:
Alcohol is a major cause of Russia's low life expectancy rate. Twenty-five percent of Russia's male population will die before the age of 55. This is especially shocking to me because here in America a majority of our grandparents typically live between the ages of 70-80 years old. Of course Russia is not the only place where men like to enjoy vodka or other types of alcohol. Russian men just tend to drink more at a time as well as drink more frequently. I believe that this is due to their culture. In American society we would look at someone who drinks three bottles of vodka a week and immediately assume that they are an alcoholic. But in Russia I believe that this is not a violation of a social norm.