The health standard of the Russian population is in general low. Trying to quantify the situation, Health Minister Yury Sevchenko, in an article published in Rossiskaya Gazeta on Tuesday, said that "only about 20 percent of the population is healthy."



Let us repeat that figure: Only 20 percent. In other words, four out five people in the Russian Federation are considered to be in a state of ill health. That is a shocking statistic.



Of course, we recognize that "health" is a nebulous concept that is hard to really quantify or define. But it is beyond dispute that Russia has a population that is both shrinking and aging at the same time. In addition to dealing with a problem of a low birthrate, as are many Western European countries, Russia has been plagued by a rapidly declining life expectancy for men — the current male life expectancy stands at about 58, a full 10 years less than it was just over a decade ago. (Average female life expectancy, on the other hand, has decreased only slightly.) These deaths are largely the result of cardiovascular diseases — fostered by heavy drinking and smoking — and alcohol poisoning. In other words, they are to a great extent the result of an unhealthy lifestyle on the part of many Russian men.



This is of course not to say that things such as the reappearance of tuberculosis and other diseases and, sometimes, a poor environment do not play a role, but it is pretty clear that the main culprits in Russia's health crisis are nicotine and alcohol. This is a problem that urgently needs to be addressed, and it is one that the state really does have the ability to do something about.



We are by no means taking a moralistic standpoint — it is everyone's choice how they want to live, within reason. But the poor choices being made, especially by the young, are also an indicator of the general disrepair the whole social structure of the country is in. Russians are increasingly being driven towards drinking beer and vodka, smoking more cigarettes and eating junk food by the explosion of foreign investments in these sectors. Big tobacco, breweries and Big Macs were among the largest and first foreign investors in the Russian economy. They have employed very creative marketing tactics to slowly convert the whole nation into drinking and smoking even more than they already were.



Russia has seen the occasional public-service announcement appearing in public transportation or on television exhorting people to live a healthier life — not to smoke, to drink in moderation, to engage in safe sex, to avoid narcotics and so on. This is all to be applauded. But the level of such educational programs is extremely low, and heavy alcohol use, at least, is still depicted as acceptable and even romanticized on television, in newspapers and elsewhere. There is almost no civic education to speak of, and despite the rare exhortation from the president to engage in sports, the elite is abusing itself to death.



President Vladimir Putin was mocked by many a liberal media outlet when he called upon the nation to be more health-conscious. We think he should do more. He should market himself as a role model for a healthy and productive lifestyle. One thing Russia desperately needs is role models, and Putin should not shirk that responsibility.



Business should also play a more socially conscious role. The government should obligate businesses that market offending substances to allocate a portion of their incomes to funding programs — both educational and anti-addiction treatment — that address the problems that overuse of their (addictive) products create. Big tobacco and big cholesterol are under severe pressure in the United States, and there is no reason they should be given an easier ride in Russia.



We are normally against state involvement in the lives of its private citizens — but this is one instance in which we have to make an exception to that general rule.