B. Urlanis, Cherish The Men!. June 7, 1979
Original Source: Literaturnaia gazeta, 7 June 1979, p. 11.
Ten years have passed since Literaturnaia gazeta published our article “Cherish the Men” and many people undoubtedly still remember the stormy reaction it evoked. Unfortunately, in the time since the article appeared, the problem that it addressed has become even more acute: The gap between the average life expectancy of men and that of women has widened by two more years, so that men now live, on the average, 10 years less than women.
One of the main factors contributing to the shorter male life expectancy is alcoholism. In 1977 the per capita consumption of alcohol in the country was 5% higher than in 1976. Granted, considerable attention has been given to the campaign against alcoholism in recent years. An All-Union Interdepartmental Council for Propaganda Against Alcoholism was recently set up under the USSR Ministry of Public Health. And yet we still do not have an All-Union Temperance Society, which has been under discussion for many years now.
As a factor in reducing life expectancy among men, smoking is alcoholism’s “younger brother.” Women have begun to smoke widely in recent years, but men smoke much more heavily, and smoking causes especially great damage to their health.
Accidents are a third major factor in the increased male mortality rate. From 12% to 14% of deaths among males of all ages are attributed to “accidents, poisoning and injuries.” Among men from ages 20 to 24, this percentage rises to 80%.
Overeating, especially in combination with insufficient physical activity -which is a product, in part, of today’s greater mechanization of labor- is another harmful male habit.
The causes of the higher male mortality rate should be a subject for the field of demography. Unfortunately, however, this field is still not recognized within the USSR Academy of Sciences’ system. This is especially surprising, since the first demographic institute in the world was founded in Kiev in 1919, and the second was established in Leningrad in 1931, under the USSR Academy of Sciences. But both of these institutes were subsequently closed and have never been reopened. We do not have a single institute where the problems of mortality in general, and male mortality in particular, are the subject of comprehensive and intensive investigation. It is time to revive the USSR Academy of Sciences’ Demographic Institute and make it a large and prestigious institution.
Of course, in addition to research, serious practical measures for improving men’s health are also needed. Ten years ago we recommended the establishment of men’s medical consultation centers. As of January 1975, there were 10, 300 women’s consultation centers in the country, but the USSR Ministry of Public Health has not yet created a single men’s consultation center. There do not need to be as many men’s centers as women’s but there should be some.
Men’s consultation centers could serve numerous useful purposes. For example, in a case of sexual incompatibility between husband and wife, it is much more likely that the wife would go to a men’s consultation center than that the husband would agree to go to a women’s center. Men’s consultation centers could also have special addiction- treatment divisions, which could help not only alcoholics but also addicted smokers …
Source: USSR Today (Columbus: AAASS, 1981), p. 37.