Russian lawmakers in the Vologda region north of Moscow have proposed limiting alcohol sales to a two-hour period on weekdays after the local governor cited “horrible” death figures.

Vologda Governor Georgy Filimonov said 71 percent of working-age male deaths in the region were due to alcohol consumption, including liver cirrhosis and heart disease.

In an eight-minute speech broadcast on his Telegram channel, he portrayed the bill as an urgent public health intervention and said, “In one year, cases of alcoholism increased by 30%. This is a terrible picture.”

“We cannot remain indifferent while our citizens are dying,” he said. “If the population is depleted and destroyed, as in war, who will replace them?”

The bill, which is being considered by the local legislature, would allow stores to sell alcohol only between noon and 2 p.m. on weekdays, with weekend and holiday sales unaffected. If approved, the restrictions would come into force on March 1 next year.

While demographic problems come to the fore in Russia, which is waging a war in Ukraine, official data announced last month showed that Russia’s birth rate has fallen to its lowest level in the last quarter century.

According to official statistics, the average life expectancy of Russians was 73.1 years last year. Eurostat data from the same year shows that citizens of European Union countries will live an average of 81.5 years.

According to the World Health Organization, Russia has traditionally had one of the highest rates of alcohol consumption in Europe. Russian and Soviet leaders have previously tried to change drinking habits with limited success.

“Irreparable damage is being caused to the health of future generations, to the economy, to our public, social and cultural life,” Filimonov said. he said. “And all this is happening in peace conditions, not on the front lines.”

On Wednesday, the Kremlin said similar restrictions were not being considered at the federal level after a lawmaker in the lower house of parliament told a state media agency that he supported gradually limiting alcohol sales across Russia.

In 2010, Russia’s prime minister, Vladimir Putin, approved restrictions on alcohol sales and production, higher taxation, and limits on advertising.

The last emperor of Russia, Tsar II. At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Nicholas I introduced a ban banning the sale of hard liquor in most workplaces.

Josef Stalin lifted the ban in 1925 and reintroduced the state vodka monopoly system to increase government coffers. REUTERS