MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Cabinet to tighten laws governing the manufacture and sale of alcohol-containing products following the deadly mass poisoning of a bath essence in Siberia, the Kremlin said Wednesday.
"President Putin signed a list of instructions on state regulation in the area of production and turnover of alcohol-containing products," the Kremlin's press service said.
Authorities have been given a March 31 deadline to draft proposals on changing excise rates for alcohol and alcohol-containing products. Additionally, Putin instructed the government to introduce mandatory labeling of alcohol-containing products manufactured and sold in Russia.
Up to 61 people in Irkutsk have died after consuming a bath lotion called Boyaryshnik (Hawthorn) following mass hospitalizations over the weekend.
Authorities have made 11 arrests in connection with the wholesale and retail sales of the dangerous methylated spirits.
