Russian officials call for alcohol ban

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov says he wants alcohol banned throughout Russia in a bid to combat one of the nation's biggest killers. "The best decision would be to put restraints on vodka … . What's the difference between a terrorist and a drunk driver? No difference at all," Kadyrov said in an interview with the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper. Russia's public health chief, Gennady Onishchenko, was quick to show his support for the proposal although he admitted it was "unachievable," RIA Novosti reported Friday. Control over sales of alcohol has been increased in recent years in Russia, where consumption is more than double the critical level set by the World Health Organization. "Alcohol is so affordable, children and youth can get it," Onishchenko said. The head of Russia's union of wine and spirits producers criticized Kadyrov's proposal, saying attempts to impose an alcohol ban in Tsarist Russia in the early 1900s did not yield any "positive changes." "Why repeat the same mistake?" Dmitry Dobrov said, claiming such a move would just lead to an increase in the production of illegal liquor.