Legal Age Up to 21; Vodka Output Cut : Kremlin Imposes Tough Restrictions on Drinking

The Soviet government announced strict measures Thursday to combat alcoholism, including an increase in the legal drinking age from 18 to 21 and a cutback in vodka production.

The crackdown includes increased penalties for drinking--or being drunk--in public, and the main evening television news program reported that some of the 18 million members of the Communist Party may be expelled if they are found to drink too much. Hours for selling vodka and other spirits will be reduced on workdays, with liquor stores opening at 2 p.m. instead of 11 a.m.

Despite rumors in Moscow, however, the government made no move to raise the price of vodka, which now averages about $8 a bottle, or to ration it and other forms of hard liquor.

The measures, proposed by the Communist Party Central Committee and by leaders of the Soviet government, are expected to take effect in June after they are formally adopted by the nominal legislature, the Supreme Soviet.

Excessive drinking has often been blamed here for high levels of absenteeism from work, and the crackdown is seen as part of a campaign by Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev to boost productivity. The Soviet media began dramatizing the problems of alcoholism soon after he succeeded the late Konstantin U. Chernenko in March.

Consumption of liquor by Russians has traditionally been heavy, and the per capita Soviet consumption of liquor is the equivalent of more than two gallons of nearly pure alcohol a year, according to Soviet statistics.

Per capita consumption in the United States is about the same, according to a 1981 report.

An American scholar, Vladimir Treml of the University of North Carolina, estimated in 1979 that the actual figure for Russians is closer to four gallons a year. The Soviet rate of arrests for public drunkenness, Treml said, is 20 times the rate in the United States.

The world’s highest per capita consumer of the equivalent of pure alcohol was Luxembourg, with 4.86 gallons in 1981, according to a 1982 report by the World Health Organization.

Groups of three Soviet workers often pool their funds to buy a bottle of vodka. Showing three fingers is a widely recognized invitation to join two others in sharing a bottle.

Alcoholism has been blamed for a dramatic decline in male life expectancy, from 67 to 62 years, during the last two decades in the Soviet Union. Average life expectancy has been increasing in most industrialized countries.

Divorce Rate, Birth Defects

It has also been blamed for a soaring divorce rate and increasing birth defects.

Guards for railroad shipments of vodka have been found drunk on duty, and even some soldiers assigned to the Soviets’ nuclear missile forces have been disciplined for drinking too much, according to recent articles in official newspapers.

Boys as young as 10 years old have been diagnosed as alcoholics, and the Soviet schools recently began anti-alcohol lectures for first-graders.

Thursday’s announcement said that adults--including parents--responsible for getting a minor intoxicated may be punished with terms in labor camp or prison.

Highlights of the government plan:

--A halt by 1988 in production of alcoholic beverages based on fruit and berry juices. It was not clear whether this would apply only to cheaper and stronger “fortified” wines or also would include high-quality table wines, champagne and brandy made from grapes.

--A reduction in the output of “strong alcoholic drinks” starting in 1986 and greater output of soft drinks.

--An increase in penalties. Tass, the official news agency, reported that “considerable fines are envisaged for drinking alcoholic beverages in the streets, at stadiums, in parks, or for appearing in public places in a drunken state. Repeated violations of this kind entail larger fines.” No details were provided.

--Drunken drivers will be fined 100 rubles (about $115) or may lose their driver’s licenses for one to three years.

Parents of Minors Included

“Particularly tough measures are envisaged against those who try to persuade minors to drink alcoholic beverages,” Tass said. “This applies to the parents of minors, too.”

Strong penalties also are planned against makers of home-brewed substitutes for vodka.

--Establishment of a national temperance society, with its own publication, and stepped-up anti-alcohol propaganda.

--Expansion of recreation opportunities for young people, especially sports facilities, between now and 1990.

--Finally, more medical aid and out-patient clinics will be made available for people who may become alcoholics, and treatment of confirmed alcoholics will be improved, the announcement said.