Middle-aged women drink twice as much as they did 10 years ago

WOMEN living in Scotland are binge drinking more than they did in the Nineties, a think-tank reveals today.

The number of women reporting at least four binge drinking sessions in the previous month has increased, from 4 per cent in 1996 to 6 per cent in 2005, according to data published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

A snapshot of female drinking habits over a period of eight years also shows middle-aged women have doubled the amount of alcohol they consume every week. In 1995, Scottish women aged between 45 and 54 were drinking an average of 5.6 units per week, rising to 11.2 units in 2003.

The figures – the latest available and collated from the Scottish Health Survey (SHS) and Health Education Population Survey (Heps) – show that the biggest drinkers are teenagers and young women aged 16 to 24, whose average weekly alcohol consumption has increased from 8.4 units in 1995 to 12.2 units in 2003.

Overall, the number of weekly units consumed by women in Scotland went up from 6.3 units in 1995 to 9.1 in 2002, with male consumption rising from 20.1 in 1995 to 20.3 in 2003.

Among Scottish men, the proportion of binge drinkers – defined as those who drink more than 21 units a week – declined from 25 per cent in 1996 to 18 per cent in 2005. In women, there was little overall change in the proportion drinking more than 14 units per week, which is their weekly recommended allowance.

The research, entitled Drinking in the UK, describes drinking trends in the general population in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales over the last 20 to 30 years.

Lesley Smith, the lead author of the report, said the survey results "could be interpreted as one expression of the historically recent emancipation of women in Western society", as well as the pressure of advertising and women's increased financial security and independence.

She added: "One possible explanation for the increase in drinking among older age groups over recent years is that we have a more affluent and active older population, with more disposable income.

"Drinkers were more likely to be people with an active and sociable lifestyle.

These groups may not perceive themselves as 'old' and drinking may be an activity that they feel they have the freedom to enjoy.

"The increase in drinking among older people could also be related to a broader phenomenon of risk-taking among older people."

Dr Paul Skett, a reader in pharmacology at Glasgow University who specialises in the effects of alcohol, told The Scotsman: "When I was growing up, it was the guys that were drinking and the girls were sitting in the corner drinking lemonade.

"A lot of it is peer pressure, and some of it could be attributed to the feminist movement saying the girls can drink as much as the boys."