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Lapierre C, Erlandson LW, Stoneroad II R, Rhiner A, Gosnell R, Barber J, Pham L. Substances of health concern in home-distilled and commercial alcohols from Texas. Heliyon 2024; 10:e32317. [PMID: 38912503 PMCID: PMC11190660 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e32317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2024] [Revised: 05/30/2024] [Accepted: 05/31/2024] [Indexed: 06/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Objective Poor distillation practices in the production of spirits have historically resulted in many instances of adverse health outcomes including death. Concern has focused on lead and copper contamination as well as unhealthy levels of methanol and glyphosate. This study assesses home-distilled and commercially distilled alcohols from Texas for these substances of concern, highlighting their potential risks to public health. Methods Atomic absorption spectroscopy, gas chromatography, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were employed to determine lead and copper, methanol, and glyphosate levels in 12 commercial and 36 home-distilled alcohol samples. Results Our findings showed that 11 % of the home-distilled alcohols exceeded the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau's copper safety limits of 0.5 mg/L for wine. Additionally, 36 % of these samples surpassed the European Commission (EC)'s lead legal threshold of 0.15 mg/L set for wine products. Results from commercial alcohols indicated that no samples exceeded the same safety limits for copper, and 33 % exceeded the same legal threshold for lead. Both commercial and home-distilled alcohols exhibited methanol concentrations remarkably below the 0.35 % limit for brandy set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Only two home-distilled samples contained detectable glyphosate concentrations well below 100 μg/L, the maximum residue level in beer and wine established by the EC. Conclusions Our findings suggested that consumption of alcohol in Texas may pose potential health risks associated with the elevated content of lead and copper. There is a need for increased focus on alcohol as a potential source of exposure to heavy metals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Coady Lapierre
- Department of Counseling and Psychology, Texas A&M University-Central Texas, Texas, USA
| | | | - Randy Stoneroad II
- Department of Mathematics and Sciences, Texas A&M University-Central Texas, Texas, USA
| | - Andrew Rhiner
- Department of Mathematics and Sciences, Texas A&M University-Central Texas, Texas, USA
| | - Renae Gosnell
- Department of Mathematics and Sciences, Texas A&M University-Central Texas, Texas, USA
| | - John Barber
- Department of Mathematics and Sciences, Texas A&M University-Central Texas, Texas, USA
| | - Linh Pham
- Department of Mathematics and Sciences, Texas A&M University-Central Texas, Texas, USA
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Gugushvili A, Azarova A, Irdam D, King L. Hazardous alcohol consumption in slow- and fast-privatized Russian industrial towns. Sci Rep 2024; 14:11737. [PMID: 38778062 PMCID: PMC11111452 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-62077-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Hazardous drinking, defined as the consumption of homemade, unofficially made alcohol and non-beverages, is prevalent and accounts for a high proportion of alcohol-related deaths in Russia. Individual-level characteristics are important explanations of hazardous drinking, but they are unlikely to explain spatial variation in this type of alcohol consumption. Areas that attracted insufficient attention in the research of hazardous drinking are the legacy of industrialization and the speed of economic reforms, mainly through the privatization policy of major enterprises in the 1990s. Applying mixed-effects logistic regressions to a unique dataset from 30 industrial towns in the European part of Russia, we find that in addition to individual-level characteristics such as gender, age, marital status, education, social isolation, labor market status, and material deprivation, the types of towns where informants' relatives resided such as industrial structure and speed of privatization also accounted for the variance in hazardous alcohol consumption among both male and female populations of the analyzed towns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexi Gugushvili
- Department of Sociology and Human Geography, University of Oslo, Postboks 1096, Blindern, 0317, Oslo, Norway.
| | - Aytalina Azarova
- Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Worts Causeway, Cambridge, CB1 8RN, UK
| | - Darja Irdam
- Hall & Partners, Bankside 2, 90-100 Southwark Street, London, SE1 0SW, UK
| | - Lawrence King
- Department of Economics, University of Massachusetts, Crotty Hall, 412 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA, 01002, USA
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Korotayev A, Ustyuzhanin V, Ivanov Y, Issaev L. Non-beverage alcohol consumption in Russia: new evidence from Jewish Autonomous Oblast. Alcohol Alcohol 2024; 59:agad087. [PMID: 38211581 DOI: 10.1093/alcalc/agad087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2024] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Previous studies in Izhevsk, Novosibirsk, and Kazan have found that non-beverage alcohol is a large part of alcohol consumption in Russia. Whereas those places are relatively high-income cities, there are no studies about such a problem in low-income regions of Russia. The aim of this study is to investigate correlates and factors associated with non-beverage alcohol consumption in eastern regions of Russia, e.g. the Jewish Autonomous Oblast and to assess effectiveness of implementing Russian policies to restrict consumption of non-beverage alcohol. MATERIALS AND METHODS A survey of adults in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast of Russia was performed on workdays to assess non-beverage drinking patterns in summer 2022. The questionnaire included questions about socio-demographic status and alcohol use, including non-beverage alcohol consumption and drinking patterns. We use logistic regression to identify risk factors of consuming non-beverages. RESULTS First, ~30% of individuals suffering from alcohol problems drink non-beverage alcohol. Second, those who regularly consume non-beverage alcohol compared with those who chronically drink legal strong alcohol are on average more likely to experience the negative effects of alcohol consumption. Third, income and marriage are the main factors negatively associated with surrogate alcohol consumption. Besides, age shows a curvilinear relationship with that. CONCLUSIONS We suggest that a modified anti-surrogate policy to increase the minimum price of pharmacy alcohol and to enforce restrictions on the sale of non-beverage alcohol is needed in Russia. Such measures could prevent an increase in non-beverage alcohol consumption in Russia against the backdrop of declining real incomes of the population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrey Korotayev
- Centre for Stability and Risk Analysis, HSE University, 20, Myasnitskaya, Moscow 101000, Russia
| | - Vadim Ustyuzhanin
- Centre for Stability and Risk Analysis, HSE University, 20, Myasnitskaya, Moscow 101000, Russia
| | - Yevgeniy Ivanov
- Centre for Stability and Risk Analysis, HSE University, 20, Myasnitskaya, Moscow 101000, Russia
| | - Leonid Issaev
- Centre for Stability and Risk Analysis, HSE University, 20, Myasnitskaya, Moscow 101000, Russia
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Gil AU, Khalfin RA. Development of the policy of control over unrecorded alcohol in Russia in the period after 1991. Public Health 2021. [DOI: 10.21045/2782-1676-2021-1-3-42-52] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Relevance. Unrecorded alcohol in Russia includes a variety of sources of cheap, often highly concentrated, ethanol, the use of which is associated with an increased risk of morbidity and death. Since 1991, various changes in the policy of control of unrecorded alcohol in Russia have been made, which became the subject of the analysis of this work.Methods. The paper provides a narrative review and analysis of the regulation of unrecorded alcohol in Russia in the period from 1991 to 2021. The sources of information on legislative regulation were the ConsultantPlus and Garant electronic legal reference systems, published key scientific papers and reports of international organizations on the topic of alcohol regulation, and our own analysis of alcohol policy.Results. During the study period, there was a large-scale restructuring of the regulation of the sphere of alcohol, including unrecorded alcohol, in Russia in the conditions of a new market economy. After the abolition of the Soviet alcohol monopoly and the regulatory pause of the first half of the 1990s, since 1995, the new legislative framework has been developed aimed at strengthening state control over the production and distribution of alcohol. In subsequent years, increased control over unrecorded alcohol by improving federal law No. 171-FZ, tougher sanctions for acts in the field of illegal production and distribution of alcohol through the improvement of the Code of Administrative Offenses and the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the introduction of minimum prices for alcoholic beverages, have been made. An electronic system for monitoring the volumes of produced and sold alcoholic beverages was introduced, the Federal Service for the Regulation of the Alcohol Market was established, and bans were introduced on the sale of alcohol-containing products with a low unit cost of ethanol.Conclusions. Overall, the policy on the control of unrecorded alcohol in Russia in the period after 1991 from the standpoint of public health can be characterized as positive and in line with international standards. However, it is necessary to strengthen control over the implementation of the already existing alcohol control policy measures, as well as to develop and implement new measures aimed at controlling unrecorded medicinal/pharmaceutical alcohol, medicinal alcohol-containing products, illegal alcoholic beverages and non-beverage products used as alcohol surrogates.
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Affiliation(s)
- A. U. Gil
- I. M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University
| | - R. A. Khalfin
- I. M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University
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Korotayev A, Khaltourina D, Shishkina A, Issaev L. Non-Beverage Alcohol Consumption In Izhevsk: 15 Years Later. Alcohol Alcohol 2021; 56:470-474. [PMID: 33188389 DOI: 10.1093/alcalc/agaa116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2020] [Revised: 09/29/2020] [Accepted: 10/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
AIMS Non-beverage alcohol was a major cause of preventable mortality of working-age males in Izhevsk (Russia) in 2003-2004. The Russian government has since taken measures to reduce availability of non-beverage alcohol. Yet, some types of non-beverage alcohol still remain available for consumers. The aim of this study was to assess the availability and sources of non-beverage alcohol in Udmurtia. METHODS A survey of adults on the streets of Izhevsk and its environs was performed on workdays to assess non-beverage drinking patterns in 2018. The questionnaire included questions about socio-demographic status and alcohol use, including non-beverage alcohol consumption and drinking patterns. RESULTS One hundred and sixty-eight people were questioned, of whom, 28% reported consuming non-beverage alcohol. Non-beverage alcohol consumers were more likely to be single, unemployed or retired, younger or older than 19-29 years, have lower educational status and income, have hangovers and drink moonshine. CONCLUSION Non-beverage alcohol consumption still took place at Izhevsk, a typical Russian city, in 2018, and its availability was still high. Untaxed and cheap medicinal non-beverage alcohol consumption seems to have become the major source of non-beverage alcohol consumption. Further regulation of non-beverage alcohol may be required in Russia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrey Korotayev
- National Research University Higher School of Economics, 20, Myasnitskaya, Moscow 101000, Russia
| | - Daria Khaltourina
- Federal Research Institute for Health Organization and Informatics of Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Dobrolyubova St. 11, Moscow 127254, Russia
| | - Alisa Shishkina
- National Research University Higher School of Economics, 20, Myasnitskaya, Moscow 101000, Russia
| | - Leonid Issaev
- National Research University Higher School of Economics, 20, Myasnitskaya, Moscow 101000, Russia
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Neufeld M, Bunova A, Gornyi B, Ferreira-Borges C, Gerber A, Khaltourina D, Yurasova E, Rehm J. Russia's National Concept to Reduce Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol-Dependence in the Population 2010-2020: Which Policy Targets Have Been Achieved? INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2020; 17:E8270. [PMID: 33182377 PMCID: PMC7664947 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17218270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2020] [Revised: 10/23/2020] [Accepted: 10/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
In the 2000s, Russia was globally one of the top 5 countries with the highest levels of alcohol per capita consumption and prevailing risky patterns of drinking, i.e., high intake per occasion, high proportion of people drinking to intoxication, and high frequency of situations where alcohol is consumed and tolerated. In 2009, in response to these challenges, the Russian government formed the Federal Service for Alcohol Market Regulation and published a national strategy concept to reduce alcohol abuse and alcohol-dependence at the population level for the period 2010-2020. The objectives of the present contribution are to analyze the evidence base of the core components of the concept and to provide a comprehensive evaluation framework of measures implemented (process evaluation) and the achievement of the formulated targets (effect evaluation). Most of the concept's measures were found to be evidence-based and aligned with eight out of 10 areas of the World Health Organization (WHO) policy portfolio. Out of the 14 tasks, 7 were rated as achieved, and 7 as partly achieved. Ten years after the concept's adoption, alcohol consumption seems to have declined by about a third and alcohol is conceptualized as a broad risk factor for the population's health in Russia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Neufeld
- Institute for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, TU Dresden, Chemnitzer Str. 46, 01187 Dresden, Germany;
- WHO European Office for Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases, Moscow, Leontyevsky Pereulok 9, 125009 Moscow, Russia;
- Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), 33Ursula Franklin, Toronto, ON M5S 2S1, Canada
| | - Anna Bunova
- National Medical Research Center for Therapy and Preventive Medicine of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Petroverigskiy Pereulok 10, 101990 Moscow, Russia; (A.B.); (B.G.)
| | - Boris Gornyi
- National Medical Research Center for Therapy and Preventive Medicine of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Petroverigskiy Pereulok 10, 101990 Moscow, Russia; (A.B.); (B.G.)
| | - Carina Ferreira-Borges
- WHO European Office for Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases, Moscow, Leontyevsky Pereulok 9, 125009 Moscow, Russia;
| | - Anna Gerber
- Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), 109004 Moscow, Russia;
| | - Daria Khaltourina
- Federal Research Institute for Health Organization and Informatics of Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Dobrolyubov Street 11, 127254 Moscow, Russia;
| | - Elena Yurasova
- WHO Office in the Russian Federation, Leontyevsky Pereulok 9, 125009 Moscow, Russia;
| | - Jürgen Rehm
- Institute for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, TU Dresden, Chemnitzer Str. 46, 01187 Dresden, Germany;
- Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), 33Ursula Franklin, Toronto, ON M5S 2S1, Canada
- Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), 109004 Moscow, Russia;
- Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, CAMH, 250 College Street, Toronto, ON M5T 1R8, Canada
- Institute of Medical Science (IMS), University of Toronto, Medical Sciences Building, 1 King’s College Circle, Room 2374, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, 250 College Street, 8th Floor, Toronto, ON M5T 1R8, Canada
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, 6th Floor, Toronto, ON M5T 3M7, Canada
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