New Study Shows Women Have Closed The Gap And Are Now Just As Likely As Men To Drink Alcohol

A newly released, multi faceted global study into the alcohol consumption rates of males and females have found that in terms of equality between the s*xes, there’s one gap being closed rapidly – and that’s the rate at which both consume alcohol.
It has been the preserve of men for a long time but the study shows that in the modern era, the drinking levels between the two have closed to near negligible levels.
The study, carried out by a team of researchers at the University of New South Wales in Australia, tracked the drinking habits of 4million men and women in numerous countries accross the globe over a period of over a century – 1891-2001 – although most of the subjecs were concentrated in North America and Europe.
The study found a gradual decline of the gap as the years went by, reflecting changing patterns of the expected of the genders in society. Women were more restricted in what they could do once upon a time but have more freedom to decide their own paths now.
In the early 1900’s, men were twice as likely to drink alcohol as women, and also three times as likely to abuse the substance or develop health complications from it. At the end of the 1900’s, those levels had dropped to men being just 1.1 times as likely as women to drink alcohol and only 1.3 times as likely to develop health complications due to drinking. Women were actually 1.2 times more likely to abuse alcohol.
“Alcohol use and alcohol-use disorders have historically been viewed as a male phenomenon.” the study reads.
“The present study calls this assumption into question and suggests that young women, in particular, should be the target of concerted efforts to reduce the impact of substance use and related harms.
“Men’s and women’s roles have been changing over the decades, this is likely to account for some of these trends – but not all.
“Health professionals need to help the public – both men and women – to understand the health risks of alcohol consumption, and how to reduce those risks.” it concluded.