Health Risks

Women and Alcohol
Scottish women drink more frequently than their counterparts in most other countries, and around 23% of Scottish women drink over the safe weekly drinking limits. Female figures for hazardous drinking have continued to rise steadily over the years, making it an escalating problem. In comparison, male figures have remained relatively steady. It is concerning that women, particularly young women, are drinking more because there are distinct differences in the way that alcohol affects women and this is why their recommended safe limits are lower:

Women: 2-3 units a day, up to 14 per week
Men: 3-4 units a day, up to 21 per week

We should all have at least 2 days a week without alcohol.

Drinking above the safe limits can result in a wide variety of health risks for women.

Biological vulnerability
Women should not drink as much as men as they are more susceptible to the effects of alcohol. Compared to men, women do not have as high a proportion of water to fat which means alcohol stays more concentrated inside a woman’s body. The same amount of alcohol will get a woman more drunk more quickly and can potentially cause her more harm.

Breast cancer
Research now shows that alcohol is not just a catalyst for breast cancer, but is a carcinogen (a substance that causes cancer). The relationship is dose dependant, meaning that as the alcohol consumption increases, so does the risk of cancer. It is thought that if a woman drinks more than 3 drinks a day, she increases her risk of breast cancer by 30%.

Liver
A woman’s liver doesn’t neutralise alcohol as quickly as men’s and can’t remove it from the blood as quickly either. In 2005, 492 women in Scotland died from alcohol-related diseases, 338 of them (69%) were caused by alcoholic liver disease.

Stress
The more we use alcohol to relieve stress, the less effective it becomes. Eventually, we need more and more alcohol to achieve the desired effect of feeling relaxed, and there can come a time at which we gain no relief at all. The after effects of alcohol can also increase and enhance feelings of anxiety and depression causing irritable and unable to sleep and lose the ability to concentrate. This can become a vicious cycle if we then drink more to cope. Alcohol will not relieve anxiety and depression; it will only make it worse.

Sexual health
After drinking, some people have unprotected sex or sex with someone which they later regret. Alcohol is a risk factor in relation to sexual health and can lead to sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies. Alcohol can also reduce the effectiveness of the contraceptive pill.

Conception and pregnancy
Research has shown that women who misuse alcohol are reducing their chances of getting pregnant. Women who are pregnant or trying to conceive are advised to avoid alcohol. Drinking during pregnancy can lead to Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), which can result in a wide range of mental and physical birth defects.

Hormones
Alcohol can affect women more when they have their period as the rate the body deals with alcohol is slowed by menstruation. Heavy prolonged drinking can also result in irregular periods or can stop them altogether.

Personal safety
The effect of alcohol on the brain reduces your level of inhibition and may make you more likely to say or do things that you could later regret. Alcohol slows reaction time, blurs vision and affects bodily movement as well as reducing mental ability and judgement, which can lead to risky and compromising situations.

Physical appearance

Weight gain – there are roughly 200 calories in a large glass of wine, the same amount as a donut, but alcohol has no nutritional value. Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to being overweight but malnourished.

Red face – alcohol dilates and sometimes burst blood vessels under the skin, causing red veins to appear on a drinker’s nose and cheeks.

Bad skin – alcohol ages your skin, making you look older than you actually are. A drinker’s body and skin becomes dehydrated and dry with excessive alcohol consumption. Dryer skin acquires more wrinkles. The dehydration also leads to brittle hair and nails.

Hangover - being hungover is certainly not an attractive look. Common features of a hangover are bloodshot eyes, bloated face and stomach, and pale, unhealthy looking skin. These symptoms, combined with a headache, and an upset stomach, don’t paint a pretty picture.