Women drinking 'too much'

More woman are drinking alcohol

More woman are drinking in excess of the recommended daily alcohol limit than ever before, a study has found.

It found that the number of women drinking more than the recommended limit has risen by 50% in the past 10 years.

One-in-five now drink more than the daily maximum of two to three units - equivalent to three or four small glasses of wine.

One-in-10 women in the UK drink double the recommended level, according to the report by Alcohol Concern.

There has been a significant upsurge in women's drinking over the past 10 years

Sue Baker
Alcohol Concern

Young women are the heaviest drinkers, with almost half "binge drinking" all their alcohol over two to three days.

This suggests that many are bingeing over the weekend rather than spreading their intake across the week.

The government has pledged to produce a National Alcohol Strategy to deal with rising levels of drink problems in the UK.

One-in-ten women admitted to drinking at least five days a week, according to the report.

Alcohol tastes have also changed. Some 45% of 18 to 24-year-olds say they prefer to drink beer or lager compared to just 12% of women over 65.

Sue Baker, assistant director of Alcohol Concern, said the results showed that women needed to be given more help and guidance on drinking.

'Many issues raised'

Dr Marshall warned women against drinking too much

"Clearly women still drink less than men, but there has been a significant upsurge in women's drinking over the past 10 years.

"This raises a number of issues - not least what sort of help-giving agencies should be in place to help people who develop an alcohol problem."

She added: "Our purpose in publishing this report is to raise awareness of the issue so that women can make informed choices about alcohol, how it affects their bodies and how to find support if their own, or somebody else's drinking is causing concern."

In October, a study found that almost half of young women get so drunk at least once a week that they put themselves potentially in danger.

It found that many become so inebriated they are unable to make responsible decisions about matters such as sex or ensuring they not vulnerable to attack.

Dr Jane Marshall, a psychiatrist at the National Addication Centre, warned that there were dangers for women who drink too much.

"Drinking can become out of control," she said.

"Women should be very careful about their drinking and keep it to under the 14 units of alcohol per week and that is spread out throughout the week."