Female boozers are the new smokers; social pariahs, morally bankrupt, inept mothers and a danger to themselves and others. A threat to world order and the fabric of our society, if certain tabloids are to be believed. Honestly! It's enough to make a woman turn to drink. In our brave new world of edicts against hoodies and compulsory residential parenting courses for people who can't get their kids to bed on time, expect some hearty legislation against female drinkers any day now. Picture hoards of women huddled in forlorn groups on rain-soaked pavements, sipping furtive white wine spritzers.
For the latest salvo in the increasingly hysterical war on female drinkers has just been fired. Brain scans have shown that women's brains are far more susceptible to alcohol-induced brain damage than men, according to a study published in the journal Alcoholism. Professor Karl Mann of the University of Heidelberg and his team carried out the scans on 150 volunteers, of whom around half were heavy drinkers. Over six weeks, the big drinkers were helped to quit and the brain scans were repeated. Unsurprisingly, despite drying out for six weeks, the drinkers had smaller brains than teetotallers, reflecting alcohol-related brain damage. The women drinkers' brains were as shrivelled as the men's but it took less alcohol over a shorter period of time to get the same effect.
So what exactly does this add to the sum of our understanding? Geethika Jayatilaka, director of policy and public affairs at Alcohol Concern, says it has been known for ages that women process alcohol differently from men. "Women have more body fat and less water than men, tend to be smaller and lighter and also have less of the alcohol digesting enzymes that break down alcohol," she says. So we get drunk quicker and stay drunk longer. A man can drink up to 50 units of alcohol a week before being labelled as a "heavy" or "hazardous" drinker according to Department of Health guidelines. Pity us poor women who have to stop at 35 units!
But most women who enjoy a few bevvies after work or with our evening meal are not problem drinkers. To down 35 units, you have to drink five glasses of wine a night, every night of the week. A straw poll of my female friends confirms that none of us have ever managed anything near that. After two glasses of crisp white Tesco's best, most of us start nodding off at the table; after a third, many of us start to drown in a wave of nausea.
It is certainly true that women are drinking more alcohol and developing more alcohol-related problems. But let's get it into proportion: alcohol excess remains a largely male problem. In 2001, over 22,000 men and women died from alcohol-related illnesses. Less than a tenth of these were women. And when men behave badly under the influence of alcohol, they tend to do so more publicly and violently than women. There are 13,000 alcohol-fuelled violent incidents a week round pubs and clubs in the UK. Few involve women (although the ones that do tend to generate a large amount of media coverage). It is well known that domestic violence, road traffic accidents and medical emergencies are often triggered by alcohol but women are more likely to be the victims than the offenders.
Yet the stigma attached to ladettes on the town seems out of all proportion to the scale of the problem. And the danger is that the stigma may prevent the minority of women who have a real drink problem from seeking help.
One such woman is Janet Bassfield who had to overcome a very real sense of shame before seeing her GP and admitting her problem. In the current climate of approbrium, she may well have decided not to speak up and been denied the treatment that saved her life.
"I knew I'd hit rock bottom when I started falling over," says Janet. "I felt sick and ill most of the time. My husband and I had had lots of financial problems and we had moved house lots of times. I didn't know anyone and drink became my company, my way of coping. By the time I got help, I was suicidal," she says. Her GP referred her to an NHS psychiatrist who admitted Janet for a 12 days detox programme. Apart from one setback, Janet has been dry every since.
Women who are heavily dependent on alcohol like Janet clearly have a serious problem that needs prompt, expert help. But there is a real danger that the media is muddling the message.
Women are being bombarded about the dangers of alcohol and the increased risk of breast cancer, infertility, pregnancy complications, deformed babies and this most recent scare, shrunken brains. But these reports refer to the tiny minority of women who have a significant and serious problem of alcohol abuse. It is quite wrong to equate that with the level of alcohol intake that most women now enjoy.
There is something about the image of healthy, independent women having a drink out with friends and loosening their inhibitions that really bothers certain tabloids. I wonder why they're so bothered?
