為了宣傳戒酒，俄羅斯衛生社會發展部制作了一個戒酒宣傳片《惡魔松鼠》。 該宣傳片的主角是一只喝多了撒酒瘋的松鼠，它在片中又唱又跳，吹噓如何幫朋友抓蜘蛛，并提出要殺死朋友的“惡魔”老婆，最后因喝酒被帶上法庭。該宣傳片推出后，撒酒瘋的小松鼠在網絡上迅速走紅，點擊率超過百萬。俄衛生部推出這個宣傳片，目的是促使飲酒豪放的國人少貪杯中物，更希望讓人們思考，如何擁有健康的生活。據了解，俄羅斯每人每年平均攝入的酒精達18升，遠遠超出了世界衛生組織設定的最大攝入量。

選擇松鼠作為該宣傳片的主角也不是偶然之舉。在俄語俚語里，形容一個人醉酒后產生幻覺常用的一個表達是belochka，相當于英語中的a little squirrel（一只小松鼠）。

Russia’s health ministry has rolled out an unlikely new weapon in its fight against rampant alcoholism: a video of a drunken squirrel hallucinating.

The 'demon squirrel’ clip has become a smash hit on the Internet where it has been viewed more than one million times attracting a slew of critical and positive comments.

Part of the Kremlin’s toughest anti-alcohol campaign since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the video was released after President Dmitry Medvedev described the country’s drinking problem as “a national disaster.”

The animated squirrel featured in the video is meant as a cautionary tale about the effects of binging on alcohol and vodka, Russia’s national tipple, in particular.

The advert’s creators did not choose a squirrel as their anti-hero by chance. In Russian slang, delirium tremens, the moment of inebriation when people start to get the shakes and to hallucinate, is known as “belochka” or “a little squirrel.” The squirrel in the video, who is red-eyed and bedraggled, is therefore shown ranting, singing, and delivering a nonsensical monologue.

He talks about “chasing spiders up the walls” and finishes up by offering to kill his neighbour’s wife because she is “the devil.”

“Are you a boozer?” the deranged squirrel asks in the finale. “Then I am coming around to your place.”

The colourful ad campaign follows a decision to introduce a minimum price for a half-litre bottle of vodka of 89 roubles (1.78 pounds) and to reduce the amount of alcohol permissible in motorists’ blood to nil.

Russians drink more than 18 litres (32 pints) of pure alcohol per capita per year, more than double the World Health Organisation’s recommended maximum.

At a time when Russia is trying to stem a serious population decline, encouraging people to drink less alcohol is being seen as a matter of self-preservation.

Vladimir Putin, the prime minister, and President Medvedev often try to set an example by being photographed sipping tea.

相關閱讀

俄財長鼓勵民眾多吸煙多喝酒

受經濟危機影響 俄羅斯伏特加遭民眾冷遇

(Agencies)

Vocabulary:

delirium tremens: acute delirium caused by alcohol poisoning, 酒精中毒引起譫妄（幻覺）。

（視頻來源：土豆網，中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）