The number of alcoholics in Russia has dropped by a third in the course of the last seven years, the country’s Federal Consumer Protection Service, Rosnotrebnadzor, announced Friday.

The data reflects the number of people put under medical observation for alcohol abuse. The agency also reported an 11 percent decrease in the number of people registered as suffering from alcoholism at hospitals and health clinics, and a 25 percent decrease in mortality related to alcohol consumption.

The sale of alcohol per capita has also decreased by nine percent since 2009, the group reported, heralding the drop as the result of successful government policy. Current laws ban alcohol sales in children’s, educational, medical, sports and cultural facilities, and limits the hours when alcohol can be bought in shops.





