# Women in Ireland and England, the world biggest drinkers



## heidita

> Women in England and Ireland are officially the world's biggest binge drinkers, according to a unique study of global alcohol consumption.
> One in three 17- to 30-year-olds is now classed as a heavy drinker, bingeing on four or more drinks in one session at least once a fortnight.
> These disturbing figures are 11 times higher than those of Germany and Italy, ....


 
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article1919105.ece


To my surprise, I have read this piece of news in the Spanish paper "La Razón" this morning. (source in Spanish below)

I would like to place a question : Do women drink freely and heavily in your country? Can you see women alone in bars or pubs? What kind of consideration does drinking for women deserve in your country? Is it heavily critised or just admitted as men's drinking?

Personally I think in Spain and Germany men's drinking is more freely accepted than women's drinking habits. To see a man drunk in the street or in bars is widely seen and more or less accepted but a woman will always be critised. It is much more frequent to see women in bars and "cervecerías" alone in Gemany, especially older ones, than in Spain. Not always for drinking but just for fun. To see an older woman in a bar alone is very rare.

¿En vuestros paises se acepta a la mujer que bebe y va sola a los bares?  ¿O se la mira con "malos ojos"? 
Seguro que hay una diferencia enorme entre los paises más "modernos" en relación con los paises más tradicionales como China o quizás países árabes.










http://www.larazon.es/noticias/noti_soc15933.htm


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## Sallyb36

It's not usual to see a woman alone in a bar here, but it is usual to see large groups of women together in bars, and there is a large female binge drinking culture here in the UK.


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## coachmanu

In france, women drink more and more and i think than it's the same thing in ireland and in the world generally.


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## heidita

coachmanu said:


> In france, women drink more and more and i think than it's the same thing in ireland and in the world generally.


 
Is it accepted in your country? Do people look down on these women?


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## LV4-26

coachmanu said:


> In france, women *drink *more and more and i think than it's the same thing in ireland and in the world generally.


(my emphasis)
Just to point out an important nuance here.
"Women drink" would mean that they drink on a regular basis, each and every day.
Indulging in occasional binges ("once a fortnight" I think I've read) doesn't necessarily imply daily drinking.


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## nushh

Hmm, having lived in Spain for a few years now I'd say I don't really see that many women alone at bars - but then I'm not used to seeing men drinking aaall alone, not talking to anyone else, either. I've no actual facts, just opinions  but I'd say people under 45-50 will probably see lone drunkards as pretty sad and pathetic -regardless of their sex- while older people will criticise women more.

What you do get a lot more is groups of women or mixed groups in which women drink just as much as men -all social drinkers, drunk and loud, but not that many completely wasted, and as many women as men. In fact, I kind of think a woman that can drink a man under the table will be thought of as cool. So... I'd say the key concept there is being able to hold their drink.

Teenagers are a different matter altogether: getting wasted as often as possible seems to be the ultimate act of coolness.

So- in short, I'd say:

Old people--> they do criticise women more.
Younger --> if anything, will criticise lone drunkards, regardless of sex.

BTW, thought I should add "La Razón" is considered here as a sort of second-rate radical right-wing paper... so their views might not be... "mainstream"


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## maxiogee

I'd be a tad cautious of the title of this thread.
Women in Ireland are drinking prodigious amounts - especially noticeable as they didn't used to drink so much, or so often.

*BUT* —> Young men in Ireland far outweigh them in consumption, I believe.

The report looks at the percentages of the population who binge-drink. In Ireland that figure is put at 57% of women and 49% of men. The definition of "binge-drinking" is…
"four or more drinks in one session at least once a fortnight."
…heavy drinking men in Ireland are putting that much away at a lunchtime! (Are these people for real? Four drinks in a session is a binge?) 
More women here _may_ drink more often, but the men are taking much more alcohol in each session.


--edit-- 
Finally, not to try to diminish this report damning indictment of a huge problem, but it only surveyed 21 countries.


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## coachmanu

I read that in a journal. It's a poll and he said than women drink more and more but a small measure however men drink week end quantity.


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## Poetic Device

Quote:
Women in England and Ireland are officially the world's biggest binge drinkers, according to a unique study of global alcohol consumption. 
One in three 17- to 30-year-olds is now classed as a heavy drinker, bingeing on four or more drinks in one session at least once a fortnight.
These disturbing figures are 11 times higher than those of Germany and Italy, .... 

Obviously, they have not been to my area.  I am always seeing so many young adolescents--some as young as 13--drinking themselves to an oblivion on at least a weekly basis.  Doesn't that constiture as alchoholism?


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## Hakro

*"... four or more drinks in one session at least once a fortnight"*

And this is called heavy drinking? Ridiculous!


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## gabbia83

I think that not only irish and england women are strong drinkers 
Also in my country (italy), especially in lombardy, they drink a lot.
So it is a widespread situation


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## Sallyb36

four drinks in one session really is not a lot for a woman, considering that one drink might jsut be half a pint of beer, so 4 drinks = 2 pints.  I don't drink much, but when i do i drink more than that.


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## maxiogee

I have a feeling that they might not actually mean (4 x "one drink") when they say four drinks. These 'scientists' usually speak nowadays of 'units of alcohol', and a 'unit' can vary according to the type of drink and its strength. This can actually lower the "four" drinks to closer to two or three.


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## Sallyb36

It seems a ridiculously small amount taken once a fortnight to be worrying about.


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## heidita

Sallyb36 said:


> It seems a ridiculously small amount taken once a fortnight to be worrying about.


 
Really I think the same. In the Spanish report they didn't talk about the every fortnight bit. 
I am a heavy drinker than too, as I drink a beer almost every day. And let's not talk about my husband!!!

In any case, the piece of news was also mentioned as something rather "scandalous" on British news, as I took it anyway. It is not to be taken seriously, I suppose, as one talks about women drinking "in the open".

What about women drinking privately though? In Germany for instance private parties are much more common than here in spain, and people, men and women likewise, drink rather heavily.


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## Poetic Device

What are the chances of them talking about a drink stronger than beer (i.e. Jonny Walker or Jack Daniels)?  If that is the case then I think they would make a little more sense.


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## John-Paul

Poetic Device said:


> What are the chances of them talking about a drink stronger than beer (i.e. Jonny Walker or Jack Daniels)?  If that is the case then I think they would make a little more sense.



A pint of beer holds just as much alcohol as a glass of wine or a shot of whisky. In the Middle Ages and in biblical times beer and wine were the beverage of choice because water was contaminated. Have you ever seen a report on alcoholism or binge drinking in de Middle Ages?

It's the puritans again, they want to start you on icecream.


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## Poetic Device

Okay. Sorry. We don't have pints here and our beer to say the least sucks. THat is why I asked. Personally (and this goes for most of the women that I know) I drink more Jonny, Jack and Jose than beer (which is the equivolent of horse urine). This is, of course, when I'm not fat.


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## emma42

As I understand it,  a pint of (English standard) beer holds twice the amount of alcohol as a glass of wine or a shot of whisky.  This is what the government tells us, so it must be right!


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## John-Paul

My mistake. In the Netherlands we don't use pint as a measuring unit,  any glass of beer may be called a "pint", as in "doe mij maar een pintje bier". In Bavaria they've got those 2L glasses, we call those "pint" as well. sometimes people would say, a big "pint".


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## badgrammar

Yes, well, I have to agree, if four drinks in a once-a-week "binge" are what is called "heavy drinking", then I am so far down the road to alcoholism that I will need a TGV to take me back to "heavy drinking".  4 drinks is a binge?  Hell, in France that could just be the "apéro"  !


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## aslan

Hmm, 
I can say that the situation is much more different here in Turkey.It is related to religion and culture.While drinking alcol is not prohibited in the country, In some cities It is not possible to see someone drinking alcol in the streets,but  only in the bars(It is also not that much populer.People generally buy their drinks and get them in another place). In this small and more conservative cities I don t think We can come acrross a woman in a bar. Of course There can be exceptions .But in big( like istanbul, izmir,ankara) and touristic(like antalya,mugla,..)  cities  it is normal to see people getting their drinks in the streets.
in General  I can easily say that A woman getting alcol is criticised by people. But Please bear in your mind, It depends on the region and enviroment You live.


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