Consumption of Alcohol Surrogates Among Alcohol-Dependent Women

Abstract

This is the first in-depth study of alcohol and surrogate drinking patterns, types, reasons, and correlates among alcohol-dependent women in Belarus. The structured interviews were performed in 2013 with 103 alcohol-dependent women admitted to a narcological clinic in Grodno, Belarus. The results suggest that at least 30.3% of alcohol-dependent women regularly consume samogon (moonshine) and 10.8% of women use surrogates, the most popular among which are medications with a high percentage of ethanol and industrial spirits. The belief that samogon exceeds licensed vodka in quality is the main motive for its consumption. The results from the present study confirm that noncommercial alcohol use is common among alcohol-dependent women although its use may be underreported. These findings emphasize that the implementation of a comprehensive alcohol policy must take fully into account the consumption of alcohol from illicit sources.

Keywords :

• alcohol-dependent women
• alcohol
• surrogates
• Belarus

THE AUTHORS

Yury Evgeny Razvodovsky, MD, PhD, is a psychiatrist specializing in social psychiatry. He has worked as associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Grodno State Medical University (Belarus). Currently, he is a senior research scientist at the Central Scientific Laboratory in Grodno State Medical University. He has published more than 700 papers in English and Russian language peer-reviewed journals and presented conference papers focusing on the epidemiology of alcohol/drug-related problems in transitional society. He is a founding member of the International Society of Addiction Medicine (ISAM), presiding member of the International Academy of Sobriety (IAS), and is an active member of National Association of Psychiatrists. He currently serves as an Editorial Board member for the European Journal of Medicine, Journal of Addiction Medicine and Therapeutic Science, Journal of Addiction and Therapy, Journal of Sociolomics, Periodic Review of Drinking and Culture, and Suicidology. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of Sobriology.

GLOSSARY

• Drinking patterns: Drinking patterns show how, where, and when people drink and under which circumstances. They include frequency of drinking, path of drinking, whether people drink with meals or without food, the settings where drinking takes place, the activities associated with drinking, and the types of beverage consumed.

• Noncommercial alcohol: Noncommercial alcohol goes by many names: moonshine, bootlegged, local, illicit, or unrecorded alcohol. It includes alcoholic beverages that are not produced within a commercial setting and are, therefore, not reflected in official statistics, such as sales figures.

• Surrogate alcohol: Legally sold non-beverage alcohol contained in substances such as lotions, antifreeze, medicine, and illegally produced alcohol that are used for consumption in place of legally sold beverage alcohol.