Experts Target Women As Middle-Class Drinkers Face Health Threat
WOMEN who overindulge by consuming too much wine are to be targeted in efforts to tackle Scotland’s dangerous alcohol culture, it emerged yesterday.
Scottish Government officials and health experts are keen to highlight the problem of women who may be drinking over recommended limits without realising it.
They want to show that alcohol misuse is not just a problem affecting teenagers and pooreADVERTISEMENTr people, but also has an impact among middle-class women for whom wine-drinking has become part of daily life.
Experts warn that alcohol can cause a wide range of problems among women.
These include an increased risk of breast cancer, fertility problems and a high calorie content, with implications for weight.
The Scottish Government hopes that by highlighting these messages, which are of major concerns to many women, people will start to think more carefully about their drinking.
News of the advertising campaign comes after The Scotsman yesterday revealed that alcohol misuse is costing Scotland £2.25 billion a year – double the previous estimate of the scale of the problem.
Shona Robison, the public health minister, said women had become the “new drinkers”, abusing alcohol much more now than 30 to 40 years ago.
She said links to breast cancer, fertility and other health and wellbeing issues needed to be urgently highlighted.
“We are very keen through our campaign to really spark that debate among women,” Ms Robison said.
“One of the world’s largest studies of drinking behaviour and breast cancer found that the risk of breast cancer increases by 6 per cent for every extra alcoholic drink you drink every day over the sensible limit.
“Clearly we need to get messages across that it is not just things like liver cirrhosis, which is important, but there are also these other links to things like breast cancer.”
In recent years, it has become more acceptable for women to drink wine in larger quantities, perhaps sharing a bottle every night over dinner with their partner and at lunch with friends.
But over the course of a week, this can mean many exceed the recommended limit of 14 units.
Surveys have revealed evidence that while men are still on average drinking more, women are catching up.
In 1995, 33 per cent of men reported consuming more than their recommended weekly limit of 21 units, but by 2003 this had fallen to 29 per cent. However, among women, drinking over the recommended limit increased from 13 per cent in 1995 to 17 per cent in 2003.
The Scottish Government said that teenagers alone could not be blamed for the rising levels of drinking.
Research has shown that women working full-time in professional and management posts are the most likely to develop a problem.
Death rates from liver cirrhosis among women in Scotland have also more than tripled in the past 30 years.
Ms Robison said that people had to understand the harm they could be doing.
“When people talk about alcohol misuse, they think yes, it’s a problem, but it’s someone else’s problem.
“People don’t necessarily associate their own behaviour with hazardous drinking. But we know that people underestimate what they think they drink and if they really have a look at what they drink, it’s likely that they are drinking more than the recommended limit.”
Over the next three years, the Scottish Government is investing over £120 million to help prevent alcohol misuse and provide support and treatment.
A long-term strategy on how they will tackle alcohol misuse is expected to be published this summer, with radical measures promised.
The new advertising images aimed at women, to be used in magazines, posters and online, will highlight the fact that drinking more than a glass of wine a day could increase the risk of breast cancer.
They will also point out that a large glass of wine has almost 200 calories and that excessive drinking may reduce the chances of conceiving.
Jackie Harris, a clinical nurse specialist at charity Breast Cancer Care, said while it was known that drinking alcohol could increase a person’s risk of developing breast cancer, whether it can actually influence how the disease develops has yet to be fully determined.
“Alcohol is just one variable that could lead to an increased risk, and it’s very hard to isolate specific lifestyle factors.
“Being teetotal does not mean that you’ll be free of breast cancer, nor does drinking alcohol mean that you will definitely develop the illness,” she said.
“If anyone is questioning the amount of alcohol they are consuming they should talk it over with someone, such as their GP or an alcohol support group.”
Susan Seenan, from the charity Infertility Network UK, said many factors, including alcohol, could affect fertility.
“One in six couples currently have problems conceiving and while pregnant women have for a long time been told to avoid alcohol, cutting down on alcohol is also good advice for those trying to conceive,” she said.
“We would advise any couple trying for a baby that both should cut down on alcohol consumption, give up smoking and follow a healthy diet and to seek expert advice if they have any concerns at all.”
LIVER DISEASE
Women’s livers cannot repair themselves as quickly as men’s livers when they become damaged. This means that it takes longer for women to recover after a heavy drinking session. Women’s livers also produce less of the substance the body uses to break alcohol down, meaning they get drunk quicker and the effects last longer than they do in men.
BREAST CANCER
It is thought that several hundred cases of breast cancer in the UK each year could be linked to alcohol. The world’s largest study of women’s drinking suggested the cancer risk rose by 6 per cent for every extra alcoholic drink consumed a day over recommended limits. Experts are unclear how alcohol leads to breast cancer, but are confident the link does exist.
THE PILL
In the days before a woman has her period, the effects of alcohol are felt more quickly. But taking the contraceptive Pill has the opposite effect, delaying the absorption of alcohol into the body and delaying the time it takes to leave the body.
Women taking the Pill will not be as aware of the effect of alcohol on them and so may drink more than they realise.
FERTILITY
Research suggests that women who drink large quantities of alcohol are less likely to become pregnant. With rising rates of infertility in the UK, it is feared that an increase in alcohol consumption could be partly to blame for the problem. Some experts have suggested that as few as five drinks a week could decrease a woman’s chance of becoming pregnant.
EFFECTS ON FOETUS
Evidence is mounting to suggest that any amount of alcohol could affect the foetus. Foetal alcohol syndrome leads to serious mental impairment as well as physical abnormalities, and in less severe cases can cause behavioural and learning difficulties. The Chief Medical Officer advises avoiding alcohol for pregnant women or those trying to conceive.
DIET AND NUTRITION
There are almost 200 calories in a glass of red wine. At seven calories a gram, alcohol has more calories than many foods – and that is before you consider the sugar added to most drinks. Alcohol also stimulates appetite while reducing self-control, making it easy to eat too much. Women may also replace food with alcohol to control calorie intake.
DATE RAPE
Women who are drunk are less able to look out for themselves, putting them at risk of being taken advantage of sexually. Many women are worried about their drinks being spiked with date rape drugs. But alcohol is the UK’s biggest date rape drug. Research suggests that up to 81 per cent of rape and sex attack victims had been drinking before the assault.
GETTING HOME SAFELY
People who have been drinking are more likely to take risks. For women, this can mean walking home alone down dark streets they would not take when sober. They may also choose to go home with someone they have just met, which is very risky. Being drunk can make women more likely to have unsafe sex, putting them at risk of sexually transmitted diseases.
FREEZING TO DEATH
Alcohol makes drinkers feel warmer, but is actually lowering core body temperature. People who fall asleep drunk outside are at risk of hypothermia and death. Because women are more likely to wear skimpy outfits, they are at particular risk. Hypothermia itself makes people feel sleepy as the body’s main functions start to shut down.
Bigger glasses and stronger wine and beer adding to dangers
HAVING one glass of wine in a pub in the UK now means you could be consuming up to a third of a bottle.
Pubs and bars are also increasingly tempting customers with special offers to encourage them to buy a whole bottle of wine, by making it cheaper than buying separate glasses.
Last month, doctors warned that bars were leading their customers into dangerous drinking habits by making supersize measures of wine and spirits appear to be standard orders.
The Royal College of Physicians said the licensing industry was being “irresponsible” by reducing the availability of smaller servings.
They said many pubs and wine bars had already got rid of 125ml measures of wine altogether.
This meant customers were left to choose between 175ml and 250ml glasses only.
A 250ml glass amounts to around a third of a bottle of wine.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has even had to devise a new method to assess alcohol consumption which takes into account the trend for stronger wine and bigger glasses.
The main change compared with previous years is that one medium glass of wine now counts as two units instead of one. The ONS has also had to consider the growing popularity of high-alcohol beers among consumers.
Health experts have warned that the increase in wine-measure sizes is having a particular effect on women – the biggest consumers of wine.
There has also been concern that people are unwittingly exceeding the drink-drive limit by not taking into account the effect of larger measures.
Some suggest that the introduction of larger measures came as the result of pressure from consumers, who felt they were being short-changed by small glasses of wine offered in pubs.
‘I had big problem but help was at hand’
CASE ONE
JUNE Kelly knew her alcohol problems were getting out of control when she could go days without knowing what she had been doing.
The 54-year-old, from Easterhouse, Glasgow, is now getting help, but she said: “Sometimes, I go off the alcohol completely and sometimes I have binges. But the people who have been supporting me are always there for you.”
Mrs Kelly’s problems started about 20 years ago. “I worked in a pub for 13 years and we used to stay after hours and drink,” she said. “I knew I was having problems when I was drinking so much I just couldn’t get back up.”
Her children were only eight and 11 when her problems with alcohol became more severe – she was drinking up to a bottle of vodka a day.
She eventually found support at the Greater Easterhouse Alcohol Awareness Project, where she has been going for the past four years.
Childhood abuse started drink spiral
CASE TWO
DRINKING up to 16 cans of lager at a time left Bridie feeling depressed and suicidal.
But despite her issues with alcohol, the 36-year-old has been able to hold down a job and continue with her life.
Now she has turned her back on alcohol for good.
“I’ve had problems with my drink for 20 years now. I started drinking when I was 15.”
Bridie, of Shettleston, Glasgow, said she started drinking heavily due to abuse she suffered as a child.
“I was drinking about 16 cans of lager. I was passing out. I would find myself up dark lanes. I had to go to A&E to have stitches in my head after falling.”
Eventually, Bridie decide to get help after finding herself drinking huge amounts of alcohol at home.
Bridie, who works in mental health, has now been off alcohol for nine months.
‘I was drinking cider with breakfast’
CASE THREE
JEANETTE Gillespie couldn’t give up alcohol even after ending up in hospital on a drip.
The 53-year-old from Easterhouse found herself watching the clock at work, eager to get home for a drink.
But since seeking help from the Greater Easterhouse Alcohol Awareness Project she has seen her life improve. She said: “When I started working at 19 I had too much money, and my drinking problems accumulated from that.
“I used to work in a school and that could be stressful. I was going home and drinking vodka and lager. At weekends, it would get worse. I was drinking cider with my breakfast. My health deteriorated. I was drinking rather than eating. I got taken into hospital.”
Mrs Gillespie asked for help three years ago from addiction experts and has never looked back.
