Growing studies indicates that women are catching up with men in using and abusing alcohol. The margin is becoming thinner and the reports predict that in a short time women will be at the top. The researchers analyzed data from 2002 to 2012 and found that reported alcohol consumption in the previous 30 days rose among women, from almost 45 percent to more than 48 percent, while it fell among men, from slightly more than 57 percent to just over 56 percent.

Alcohol affects women differently than men. In some ways, heavy drinking is much more risky for women than it is for men.

Women are at greater risk than men for developing alcohol-related problems. Alcohol passes through the digestive tract and is dispersed in the water in the body. The more water available, the more diluted the alcohol. As a rule, men weigh more than women, and, pound for pound, women have less water in their bodies than men. Therefore, a woman’s brain and other organs are exposed to more alcohol and to more of the toxic by products that result when the body breaks down and eliminates alcohol.