Fatal Alcohol Poisonings and Poisonings by Other Toxic Substances in Russia

Background: It is widely believed that one of the negative consequences of Gorbachev’s anti-alcohol campaign in Russia in the mid-1980s was the dramatic growth in the number of deaths from poisonings by non-beverage alcohol surrogates. Objective: This paper aims to clarify this important issue by analyzing the trends in fatal alcohol poisonings and poisonings by other toxic substances in Russia between 1956 and 2005. Methods: To examine the relation between fatal alcohol poisonings and poisonings by other toxic substances trends across the study period a time series analysis was performed using the statistical package “Statistica 12. StatSoft”. Results: The alcohol poisonings mortality rates for both sexes dropped sharply between 1984 and 1988. Substantial reduction was also recorded in the number of deaths from poisonings by other toxic substances in the mid-1980s. According to the results of time-series analysis there was a positive and statistically significant association between fatal poisonings by alcohol and poisonings by other toxic substances at the population level. Conclusion: The official statistical data do not support the claims that the Gorbachev’s anti-alcohol campaign contributed to the dramatic growth in fatal poisonings by non-beverage alcohol surrogates.