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A campaign against
alcohol was launched, in which alcohol prices were raised and sales outlets
cut, enforced by punitive measures (11). Although this large scale
anti-alcohol campaign was primarily introduced to tackle the loss in
productivity from widespread alcohol use, it also had an impact on health.
State production and sales of alcoholic beverages (the only legal source
of alcohol in the USSR) dropped to less than one third, the prices of
alcoholic beverages were raised, further measures were taken against the
production of strong homemade alcoholic beverages, and legal sanctions were
enforced. Further, the network of medical establishments for compulsory
treatment of alcoholism was expanded. |