Alcohol Abuse A Leading Cause Of Death For Ukrainian Men

An antialcohol poster in a Kyiv subway

KYIV -- Every year more than 40,000 Ukrainians die because of alcoholism, the cause of death for nearly one-third of Ukrainian males each year, according to the Ukrainian Health Council and the World Health Organization.

Ukrainian doctors treat some 700,000 alcohol-dependent patients.

Dr. Tetyana Shmihirovska, who runs a private clinic in the western Ukrainian city of Lvov, told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service that villagers are most at risk because nearly all households make their own alcohol, which often leads to poisoning.