The Russian government has announced more startling statistics for World No Tobacco Day and Children Day.
Russia's Ministry of Education and Science announced their latest statistics on youth in Russia. Today in Russia there are:
- 2 million homeless children
- 800 thousands orphans and children left without parental care
- 2 million illiterate teenagers who can't write and read
- 6 million children who live in socially negative conditions
“A political decision on a serious review of the state policy regarding children is needed now” - Russian human rights Commissioner Vladimir Lukin said Wednesday. He noted that children’s rights are not fully secured in Russia. "Too many children need various aid of the state and society all over Russia."
According to Lukin, today:
- Only one third of Russian children (32%) are healthy
- 52% have functional physical problems
- More than 16% of children have chronic diseases
Russia's Ministry of Interior has announced their latest statistics on drug usage and criminal activity among Russian teenagers:
- 4 million Russian teenagers use or have tried heavy drugs
- 1 million teenagers are drug addicts
- The number of teenage deaths related to drug usage has increased 42 (forty two) times in recent years.
More than 1 million teenagers were registered with the Russian police for various criminal violations this year. There are more than 200,000 crimes committed by teenagers in Russia each year There are 150 youth street gangs registered as criminal organizations by police in Russia.
Russian State officials and World Health Organization have announced that:
Smoking leads to 300,000 premature deaths each year in Russia
-30% of Russian smokers try their first cigarette before they turn 12...80% before reaching the age of 17
-30% of all premature deaths in Russia annually are alcohol-related
Today, Russia is leading the European alcohol and smoking deaths list. In the past decade the number of deaths caused by alcoholism has tripled in Russia.
The average male life expectancy in Russia has dropped to 58 years.
There are 68 million males and 77 million females in Russia, as of 2004.
Russia's population declined by 1.7 million during the past year.
Contributed by Anton Verstakov (Russian Journalist)
