It looks like there will be no birthday drinking this year. Due to an unfortunate event over the Holidays, somewhere between 11 and 14 Mongolians died due to drinking some tainted vodka. The company responsible was apparently filling bottles of a rival company and selling their vodka at a higher price. The government has decided to take action: No alcohol will be sold in Mongolia until further notice.
In typical Mongolian fashion, this has extended beyond the cessation of vodka sales. They have decided that all forms of alcohol, domestic and imported alike will not be allowed to be sold within the country. Only the Mongolians would believe that preventing the consumption of alcohol produced outside of Mongolia is a logical response to a problem that is entirely domestic.
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4 comments:
Happy Birthday Colin! Better hope no one dies of food poisoning!
The banning of all alcohol is a ridiculous knee-jerk reaction to the tragic vodka poisonings last week. Prohibition is only going to force people into drinking the very same toxic arkhi that led to this situation in the first place. And the below-counter sales are booming. Last night we heard that arkhi that normally sells for about 3000 tugrugs is now being sold illegally for around 10,000. I was sold Heineken under the counter (in a comical hush-hush fashion) for 1800 a can the other night! So there is a lot of profiteering going on. Meanwhile, a whole host of other businesses are suffering. Seen the pubs and clubs in UB lately? And have no doubt that Enkhbayar and his corrupt little cadre are still downing the grog without restriction. The only ones who are probably enjoying the ban are the cops and hospitals, with violence, car accidents and trauma admissions markedly reduced. This is a good thing - but the social engineering of prohibition is not the way to alleviate the problems of alcohol overconsumption in Mongolia. It only serves to create an illegal black market and to bolster the consumption of dodgy vodka.
On the positive side: We did hear last night that the ban will be lifted on the 20th, so here's hoping.
Happy Birthday Colin. Have I told you that you're old lately?
Excellent posting, Colin.
Thank you
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