MOSCOW, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has approved a new anti-alcohol policy aiming to halve alcohol consumption and fully uproot illegal alcohol market in 10 years, local media reported on Thursday.

    An average Russian consumes around 18 liters of alcohol annually, twice the amount recommended by the World Health Organization, news website Gazeta.ru said.

    Measures to tackle alcoholism include introducing criminal responsibility for repeatedly violating alcohol production and marketing laws, and restricting alcohol advertising.

    Russia has already slapped the minimum price for vodka at 89 rubles (around 3 U.S. dollars) for half a liter starting from Jan.1, 2010, in an effort to squeeze the gray alcohol market.

    The government has planned to exterminate illegal alcohol market by 2020.

    Russia's consumer rights authority Rospotrebnadzor estimated that over two million Russians are alcohol addicts. Every year, about 100,000 people die of diseases related to alcohol abuse.