Women abusing alcohol

As reflected in the advent of the unsavoury "ladette" and the chord struck by the fictional Bridget Jones, women in the United Kingdom are abusing alcohol at record levels, according to a recent report.

The market analyst Datamonitor finds that women's drinking is likely to accelerate faster than in many other countries as young professional women fall into the male habit of drinking after work as a means of winding down.

The favoured drinks of women aged between 18 and 25 are premium bottled lagers and pre-mixed spirits rather than the pints of draught bitter and shorts favoured by men, the report says. It adds that the increased number of women who have gone through higher education and are employed at higher levels in business had led to a generation with different drinking patterns. The changed style of bars, away from the male atmosphere of the traditional pub, has made it easier and pleansanter for women to drink without the company of men.

Datamonitor looked at the drinks industry in the eight countries of the European Union, including the United Kingdom, and the United States, measuring consumption in units of alcohol per week (a unit being a pub measure of spirits, half a pint of beer or a small glass of wine). Alcohol consumption by British women was 9.4 units a week. Although this figure is lower than in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, by 2004 it was expected to be 11.8 units, lower only than Germany on 14.3 and France at 12.9.

Richard Robinson, who specialises in analysis of the drink industry for Datamonitor, said the research indicated that "many consumers follow a 'debits and credits' system which sees them feeling that one session of 'being good', such as going to the gym, earns them an indulgence such as an alcoholic drink. Consumers feel more comfortable about their alcohol intake as they feel able to justify it to themselves." In Helen Fielding's best selling book, soon to be made into a Hollywood movie, Bridget balances 'vg' against 'v.bad' days for drinking, smoking and the fluctuations of her weight. "There has been a bit of a flip in attitudes, with people saying they are not going to devote all their energies to getting a body beautiful but want to enjoy themselves at the same time," said Mr Robinson.

A spokesman for the Institute of Alcohol Studies pointed out that "women are in many ways more susceptible to the health dangers of alcohol abuse. There is no neat equation between over-indulgence one day and abstinence the next. It's a risky attitude. Women are increasingly contributing to alcohol problems in families, a field where men have long had the dubious distinction of leading."