, senior researcher at the HRB, said the data shows women’s drinking habits are becoming more similar to men’s.“Some of the data would say that women’s drinking habits have changed and are becoming more similar to men,” she said. “The high number of people who are alcohol dependent, and in particular those who are classified that way when they first present for treatment, is really worrying. It is so much more difficult to treat and get into recovery if you are already dependent.
“That reflects a lot of our clinical experience that the gap between women and men in relation to this issue is falling,” he said. “There is a huge personal and familial cost to the individuals involved, and a huge societal cost, because the unemployment rate [among them] is 52 per cent. “One of the issues around alcohol that we don’t really face up to as a society is that it causes a huge loss of productivity and a huge loss of life. These people are in the prime of their lives, unlike many other illnesses, which tend to be when people are older.”
Equality and all that...