--- Wojtek Sokolowski <wsokol52 at yahoo.com> wrote: I recognize, however, that Ireland and E. Europe are a good counterexamples, indeed. --
What's it like in Poland?
I don't know if this is true, but I have deduced tentatively that the reason why alcoholism was much less of a problem in the Soviet era is simply that alcohol was harder to get. You can get wasted today in Russia for $1 if you're willing to drink the samogon (rotgut).
Nu, zayats, pogodi!
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