*Corresponding author: Yury Evgeny Razvodovsky, Department of Psychia- try, Grodno State Medical University, Belarus, Russia, Tel: +375 0152701884; E-mail: yury_razvodovsky@mail.ru Citation: Razvodovsky YE (2018) Effectiveness of Alcohol Tax Policy Inter- vention for Reducing Violent Mortality Rates in Russia. J Addict Addictv Disord 5: 15. Received: January 29, 2018; Accepted: March 16, 2018; Published: March 30, 2018 Introduction The high level of alcohol consumption, together with a pattern of occasional excessive consumption of vodka (binge drinking), is asso- ciated with excessive effect on public health in the Russian Federation [1,2]. Many experts believe that binge drinking of vodka is a major cause of strikingly high mortality from external causes in Russia [3- 5]. Previous studies have documented signiicant contemporaneous effects of changes in vodka consumption per capita and violent mor- tality rates in this country [5,6]. Since binge drinking has numerous adverse health consequences, a consumer response to changes in the affordability of alcohol is an important research topic. A growing international literature has ex- plored the impact of alcohol taxes on alcohol-related harm [7-9]. The vast majority of these studies provide consistent evidence that higher taxes on alcohol are linked to lower alcohol-related mortality [10]. In addition, there is consensus among researchers that the increase in alcohol excise taxes on alcohol is one of the most effective interven- tions to reduce binge drinking and alcohol-related harm [11]. Natural experiments, such as sudden changes in the taxation of alcohol, provide an opportunity to test the effectiveness of policies to reduce alcohol-related harm. Russia, due to its high overall level of consumption and hazardous drinking pattern provides an important contextual setting for this type of analysis [1]. The historical perspec- tive suggests that prior attempts to mitigate alcohol-related problems in Russia have failed, mainly because of the increased consumption of various forms of surrogate alcohol [12]. Over the past decade, the Russian government adopted a series of the alcohol policy measures in an attempt to curb the alcohol-related burden [13]. The policies included a substantial increase in excise taxes on alcohol products, which led to an increase in consumer prices [14]. Excise tax rates for vodka in Russia increased dramatically between 2010 and 2015 [13]. Making vodka less affordable through differential taxation has become an essential element of the Russian alcohol policy [15]. Against this background, it will be interesting to evaluate the im- pact of the recent alcohol tax policy that was implemented in Russia on violent mortality rates. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the relationship between changes in the tax on vodka and mortality from external causes in Russia between 2010 and 2015. Methods Data on mortality from external causes (fatal alcohol poisonings (X45), fatal motor road accidents (V01-V89), suicides (X60-X84), homicides (X85-Y09), accidental drowning (W65-W74), mortali- ty due to exposure to smoke, ire and lames (X00-X09), fatal falls (W019-W09)) per 100.000 of the population and excise tax rates on vodka were collected from reports of the Russian State Statistical Committee (Rosstat) (http://www.gks.ru/). To examine the relation- ship between the dependent variable (mortality from external causes) and independent variables (excise tax rates for vodka) a Spearman’s correlation analysis was performed using the statistical package “Sta- tistical 12.StatSoft.” Razvodovsky YE, J Addict Addictv Disord 2018, 5: 015 HSOA Journal of Addiction & Addictive Disorders Research Article Yury Evgeny Razvodovsky* Department of Psychiatry, Grodno State Medical University, Belarus, Russia Effectiveness of Alcohol Tax Policy Intervention for Reduc- ing Violent Mortality Rates in Russia Abstract Background: Many experts believe that binge drinking of vodka is the main cause of the strikingly high mortality from external causes in Russia. Objectives: To assess the relationship between alcohol taxes and violent mortality rates in Russia from 2010 to 2015. Methods: Trends in the excise tax rates for vodka and violent mor- tality rates between 2010 and 2015 were compared. Results: Spearman’s correlation analysis suggests a statistically signiicant inverse relationship between excise tax rates for vodka and suicides, homicides, accidental drowning, mortality due to expo- sure to smoke, ire and lames and fatal falls. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest an inverse aggre- gate-level relationship between excise tax rates for vodka and vio- lent mortality rates in Russia. Given this evidence, raising excise tax rates for vodka appears to be an effective policy to reduce violent mortality rates in Russia. Keywords: Alcohol taxes; Mortality from external causes; Russia 2010-2015