North East women consuming almost as much alcohol as men
Health professionals must do more to tackle problem drinking among women, experts have said.
More must be done to stop women in the North East drinking too much, according to new research that shows they consume almost as much as men.
Alcohol use and related disorders have historically been viewed as a male phenomenon'', researchers said.
But a new study says women are catching up with men in terms of alcohol consumption.
The research, published in the journal BMJ Open, examined 68 studies on alcohol consumption among people born throughout the 20th century.
They found that among those born in the early 1900s, men were 2.2 times more likely than women to consume alcohol, three times more likely to drink in ways suggestive of problematic use'' and 3.6 times more likely to experience alcohol-related harms.
But when the authors examined data concerning people born in the late 1900s, men were 1.1 times more likely than women to consume alcohol, 1.2 times more likely to drink problematically and 1.3 times more likely to experience alcohol-related harms.
The authors concluded: Alcohol use and alcohol use disorders have historically been viewed as a male phenomenon.
"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.''
Carrie Armstrong from Newcastle is a recovering alcoholic and helps other women stop drinking.
She said: "So many of them are authentic non-drinkers, but were never given the opportunity to identify as non-drinkers, especially in the North East.
"It's like drinking is a right of passage, and if you don't do it, there's something wrong with you.
"I lost jobs, I had injuries, I was always sick, I hated myself, it never has to be that bad these days to get help.
"It hurts us, it hurt me when I drank and I didn't know it was okay to not drink."
Efforts are being made in the region to tackle drinking across the board.
Sergeant Mick Urwin's from Durham Police Alcohol Harm Reduction Unit.
He said: "It very much is a 50/50 split and I think that has come with the cost of going out on a night-time has become less and the trends of what people are drinking now is just very different.
"You have to look at how much they're drinking to make sure that they are keeping themselves safe, that they are still able to keep themselves safe.
"Reality TV shows are only going to highlight the things that people see as interested, when people are unable to stand or doing silly things when they're drunk.
"The problem comes when people are unable to stand, unable to talk or lying in the roads or the gutters."