Sept. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Russia may ban beer sales at kiosks and outdoor markets as President Dmitry Medvedev intensifies his campaign against alcoholism.

The Industry and Trade Ministry submitted the proposed ban to the government, which is debating the issue now, said Natalia Makarkina, a ministry spokeswoman, by phone today from Moscow. The government will forward draft legislation to parliament if it approves the proposal.

The ministry also wants to ban alcohol sales during certain times of the day, Makarkina said. “There is no need to sell alcohol products all 24 hours of the day,” RIA Novosti cited Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Andrei Dementiev as saying.

Medvedev told Health Minister Tatiana Golikova in June that he was “astonished” to learn how much alcohol Russians drink, and has since urged the government to find ways to curb consumption.

“The alcohol consumption we have is colossal,” Medvedev said then, according to the Kremlin’s Web site. “I have been astonished to find out that we now drink more than we did in the 1990s, although those were very tough times.”

Russians drink about 18 liters (5 gallons) of pure ethanol a year, or about twice the amount considered dangerous by the World Health Organization, according to the Kremlin.

To contact the reporter on this story: Maria Ermakova in Moscow at mermakova@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 29, 2009 09:35 EDT