According to the 1998 National Drug Household Survey, nearly 40% of the female population aged 14 years and over drink alcohol on at least one day each week. Alcohol does not affect everyone in the same way. In particular, alcohol affects men and women differently because of their physical differences.

Blood alcohol concentration

Alcohol is absorbed from the stomach wall and the small intestine straight into the bloodstream. Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is the measure of alcohol in a person's blood. Your BAC will depend on:

• the amount and alcoholic strength of what you drink

• the time over which you drink

• whether you have an empty stomach

• your health, especially the health of your liver

• your size and build

• Whether you are male or female.

Why women react differently to alcohol

A woman is likely to become intoxicated quicker (reach a higher BAC) than a man after drinking the same amount of alcohol. She is also likely to recover more slowly (maintain BAC longer).

Alcohol is diluted evenly in body tissues according to the blood supply. Lean body tissues have a better blood supply than fatty tissues. Women's bodies usually have a higher proportion of fatty tissues than men's, so any alcohol they drink is distributed in a smaller volume of lean tissue. This means that it takes fewer drinks to increase their BAC.

BAC is also related to body weight. Women tend to be smaller than men so alcohol is distributed over a smaller amount of body tissue. Again, this means that it takes fewer drinks to increase their BAC.

Some studies have suggested that women's reactions to alcohol vary during the menstrual cycle and are affected by the use of contraceptives or hormone replacement therapy. However, the evidence is not conclusive.

What is the standard drink

Some drinks contain more alcohol than others. To keep track of how much you are drinking, it is useful to think in terms of STANDARD DRINKS. A STANDARD DRINK is one which contains roughly 10 grams of alcohol. The following are common servings of standard drinks, which all contain the same amount of alcohol - 10 grams:

Drinking for good health

Women are advised to:

• DRINK NO MORE THAN 2 STANDARD DRINKS A DAY

AND

• HAVE AT LEAST TWO ALCOHOL FREE DAYS A WEEK.

These are the guidelines for women who drink regularly, suggested for good health by the National Health and Medical Research Council. The recommended maximum for men is twice that amount (ie four drinks a day).

Immediate effects of drinking

Alcohol slows down the messages sent between the brain and the rest of the body. This may lead to:

• feeling relaxed

• feeling less self-conscious and inhibited

• slower reactions.

Heavy drinking can lead to:

The effects of alcohol also depends on the occasion when a person drinks, their mood, whether they are used to drinking and whether they are using other drugs as well.

Long- term effects of heavy drinking

Health Effects

Some of these effects are irreversible.

Even if women drink less than men, there is evidence to suggest that they can develop diseases more quickly. These included diseases of the liver and pancreas and brain damage. A higher risk of breast cancer is associated with light to moderate drinking (1-2 drinks per day).

Emotional effects

Excessive alcohol is not only detrimental to your health but also to your emotional well-being. It can exaggerate feelings of depression, guilt, low self-esteem, anxiety and anger.

Social effects

Heavy drinking reduces your ability to think clearly and can affect the way you relate to people. This can put you in dangerous situations where you may be vulnerable to exploitation or abuse (sexual or other). It may also lead to relationship problems as drinking is often associated with violence and abuse in the home. Poor work performance in your job is another possible result of heavy drinking.

Alcohol and pregnancy

Alcohol, like most other drugs, crosses the placenta and may affect the unborn child. Drinking during pregnancy has been linked with a higher risk of miscarriage, stillbirth and premature births.

Babies affected by alcohol may experience:

• slower growth before and after birth;

• defects to the face, heart and other organs;

• mental disabilities.

In their most severe form, these problems are known as the 'foetal alcohol syndrome'. Medical researchers are unsure about what level of drinking, by the mother, can cause harm to the unborn child.

There is evidence to suggest that even regular, moderate use of alcohol (two drinks a day, three or four times a week) can affect a baby. Heavy drinking is known to be dangerous.

The safest approach is not to drink or at least watch your drinking, especially if you are planning to become pregnant.

It is in the first three months of pregnancy that the baby is at greatest risk. This is when the organs and limbs are forming.

Alcohol and other drugs

Using alcohol with some prescribed or over-the-counter medicines can be harmful or can cause discomfort. For example, using aspirin or arthritis medication and alcohol can increase the chances of stomach problems occurring. Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions about this.

Mixing alcohol with any other depressant drug (eg tranquillisers, sleeping pills or illegal drugs such as marijuana or heroin) will slow down the body's systems even more. This is particularly dangerous if the person drives or uses machinery. Also, if the body's systems are slowed down too much, the part of the brain which controls breathing can stop functioning properly and cause coma or death.

Sobering up

The body gets rid of alcohol mostly through the liver. Small quantities are expelled unchanged in breath, urine and sweat. Time is the only way of sobering up as the body only breaks down about one standard drink an hour. Black coffee, cold showers or exercise won't speed up the process.

Drinking and driving

The law sets limits on how much a person can drink while driving a car or riding a motorcycle. In NSW these limits are:

• 0.05 BAC for most drivers;

• 0.02 for the following:-

  • BAC L and P plate for drivers

  • new drivers under 25 for the first three years of driving

  • professional drivers (eg bus, taxi and truck drivers).

Women can drink less alcohol before reaching the legal limit for driving.

• On average, a healthy woman who weighs 60kg will reach the .05 limit after two standard drinks consumed over one hour.

• After several hours of drinking a woman may feel OK and still be over the drink driving limit.

• After a heavy drinking session a woman may still be over the drink driving limit the morning after.

When can drinking alcohol cause problems

It's not just the amount that a person drinks that's important. The reasons why people drink also determines if alcohol causes problems. Using alcohol to handle difficult life situations may lead to serious long-term effects.

Just a couple of drinks

Having a couple of drinks can be enjoyable and sociable. It may also help you to relax and give you a feeling of well-being. However, even the short-term effects of alcohol can sometimes cause problems. These include drink driving, hangovers, getting into fights, becoming 'disinhibited' and perhaps practising unsafe sex which can increase the risk of catching HIV/AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases.

Regular drinking

Regular drinking sometimes causes health and other social problems. These include stomach and liver disorders, spending too much money on alcohol, relationship problems.

'Binge' drinking

Drinking a large amount of alcohol over a couple of hours or drinking heavily for a number of days or weeks is very harmful. Young women are especially at risk. Their smaller body weight and higher proportion of body fat makes it more likely that they will get intoxicated quicker and remain intoxicated longer. As alcohol affects judgement, movement, eyesight and balance it can lead to accidents, especially car accidents. It also makes people more likely to take risks they wouldn't normally take. The long-term effects of alcohol on the body (eg brain damage, liver damage) more likely to occur with binge drinking.

Dependence

Tolerance to alcohol develops with regular, heavy drinking. This means that more and more alcohol is needed to feel the effects. Dependence on alcohol means that drinking becomes central to a person's thoughts, emotions and activities. A dependent person may find it difficult to stop drinking and when they do stop they may experience withdrawal symptoms. These can include anxiety, sweating, tremors, vomiting and fits.

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