Sobering shift: are Irish women changing their relationship to drink?

Irish Examiner

6 days ago

Are women waking up to the fact that booze may not be our best friend?
That, actually, we have been in a long-term toxic relationship with an addictive, carcinogenic drug, one from which we may be slowly beginning to detach?
The Irish Examiner Women's Health Survey, conducted by Ipsos B&A, found that women are increasingly taking control of their health and wellbeing, including their drinking. Park runs, saunas, and kombucha, rather than pubs, booze, and hangovers.
When asked about their current consumption, the survey found that four in 10 women are consuming less alcohol or no alcohol, and 27% would like to decrease the amount of alcohol they drink (with 33% disagreeing). Another 27% have a drink at the end of the day to relax, although 59% disagree with this. More than half the 1,000 women surveyed, 55%, drink at least a few days every month, with 5% drinking daily. Almost one in five don't drink at all.
As we become increasingly more health aware, what's interesting is how gendered our relationship with alcohol is, in part as a result of targeted marketing. Male drinking is perceived as a jolly group activity, social and celebratory, often involving sport; female drinking is presented almost as a mental health resource. Mother's little liquid helper. A sanity preserver, a coping strategy, a reward for all the ragged multi-tasking. Wine o'clock. And we're spoilt for choice: Pink gin, pink fizz, pink wine, pink spirits, pink cans of cocktails.
'For generations of women, booze is a loan shark, one on which millions of females have come to rely,' says Ann Dowsett Johnston, author of Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol.
'Over-tired, over-worked, over-anxious, booze is there to lend a hand when you need it most. And over time, when you don't. This is the truth, the painful trajectory of female drinking.
'In many ways, this reliance has to do with booze being the ultimate decompression tool: a culturally acceptable way to unwind from a perennially demanding schedule. Women go toe to toe with men in the workforce, outpace men in post-secondary education, and yet bear the lion's share of the emotional and domestic labour of running a family.'
No wonder we drink. Add to this our deeply embedded cultural attachment to alcohol, and you can see how Irish women have ranked seventh heaviest drinkers in the world, according to 2016's Global Burden of Disease Study.
No such thing as safe
For women's health, there are no safe levels of alcohol consumption, as outlined in recent research published by Harvard Medical School, despite official 'safe' limits set out by the Irish Government, suggesting 11 standard drinks for women per week (it's 14 for men).
Consultant hepatologist professor Orla Crosbie agrees that there's no such thing as 'safe' drinking for women : 'Even with moderate alcohol intake, the risks of cancer are increased.'
She reminds us that women are more susceptible than men to the effects of alcohol, as we tend to be physically smaller and have more body fat.
'There may also be hormonal reasons too,' she says. 'There is a whole range of physical, mental, and social issues that come with excess alcohol intake. Even within the recommended limits, there's still risk, particularly of cancer. Alcohol can increase the risk of breast cancer, plus cancers of the throat, oesophagus and pancreas. There's also increased risk of heart attacks and strokes, seizures — alcohol lowers your seizure threshold — and of course liver disease.'
In terms of mental health, Crosbie reminds us that while we use alcohol as a relaxant, 'in the short term you don't sleep as well, and long term it increases anxiety and depression'.
It also has social impacts specific to women: 'There are no safe alcohol limits during pregnancy. And, as alcohol is a disinhibitor, it can lead to unwanted pregnancies.'
For older women, 'the impacts can range from people having road traffic accidents to falls, especially as we get older. These can result in fractures or head injuries, which can be devastating.'
It can also exacerbate osteoporosis and skin conditions.
'A lot of people who I see with alcohol issues have multi-vitamin deficiency,' she continues. 'If your diet is poor, you can lose muscle mass while gaining fat. And with liver disease, you can retain fluid. Sarcopenia [wasted weak muscle] has a huge impact on morbidity and mortality.
'It's possible to recover,' she adds. 'Overall, mental and physical health can be improved — the key things are nutrition, time and abstinence.'
Sheila Gilheany, CEO of Alcohol Action Ireland, says the increased risk of cancer arises at 'relatively low levels' of consumption, one to two drinks per day.
But even knowing about the negative health and social impact of alcohol, cutting down or stopping can be particularly hard in a culture where you have to justify not drinking. Where drinking is so normalised that not drinking is regarded with suspicion.
'Our drinking culture is very much set by the alcohol industry through its saturated marketing,' says Gilheany.
In the past, alcohol marketing targeted men — if women were present, it was for decorative purposes. Remember the Harp advert, 'Sally O'Brien and the way she might look at you'? Nobody was trying to sell Harp to Sally. This has changed, as the drinks industry seeks to close the gender gap and boost its profits.
'The alcohol industry now deliberately targets women with dedicated marketing strategies,' says Gilheany. 'Traditionally, women have consumed less alcohol than men, and so the industry sees a significant market opportunity. Previously, women appeared in marketing campaigns more as an adjunct to men's drinking.
'Marketing strategies now include a range of products which are designed with women in mind — literally pinking the drinks,' says Gilheany. 'Other common themes are empowerment, sponsorship of women's sports, and aligning with women's issues.
For example, she notes that multinational alcoholic beverage company Diageo has supported fundraisers for breast cancer research in the US. 'It's particularly ironic given that one in eight breast cancers is caused by alcohol.'
The drinks industry, she adds, is strongly opposing the introduction of Ireland's cancer warning labelling on alcohol products.
Pic: iStock
Cultural changes
However, the 0.0% drinks aisle seems to be expanding. Where once non-drinkers had a choice between fizzy water and fizzy pop, these days there's a plethora of grown-up, alcohol-free options that actually taste good, from beers to prosecco to de-alcoholised spirits.
Is being able to join in without the prospect of a hangover a cause for celebration? Or does the expansion of the 0.0% aisle in the supermarket not quite reflect reality?
'0.0% alcohol drinks make up a very small percentage of the overall alcohol market — around 1%,' says Gilheany.
In 2023, 0.0% beer products made up around 2% of the beer market in Ireland and 0.0% spirits made up around 0.5% of the spirit market.
'While this market is growing, there is very little evidence of an alcohol substitution effect — people may be consuming these 0.0% products as substitutes for soft drinks, or in addition to alcohol products.
'For example, Heineken has had a campaign about drinking 0.0% beer after a gym session or at lunch time — occasions when alcohol might not have been drunk.
'Given how small the 0.0% spirits market is, it seems unlikely that this is a major contributor to any changes in women's drinking.'
Cultural change takes time. There was a time when Coca-Cola contained actual cocaine, when laudanum was freely available, when snuff was fashionable, and when smoking was sexy.
Until recently, we were told Guinness is good for you — including if you were a pregnant woman in need of iron — and that red wine is good for cardiovascular health.
We know now that this is simply not the case. But given the collusive, collaborative nature of alcohol as a drug and its vast profitability, we remain reluctant to let go of it, and the industry remains reluctant to stop flogging it to men and women.
Gilheany would like better labelling, similar to that on tobacco products, in an effort to pierce our denial.
'The minister for health should ensure that Ireland's alcohol labelling regulations are not delayed in any way from their start date in May 2026,' she says.
'These include warnings about alcohol and liver disease, cancer, and not drinking during pregnancy.'
Alcohol is not a risk-free product. Nor is it essential for everyday life. It's not essential at all.
That's a fact not lost on the four in 10 women in the Irish Examiner Women's Health Survey, who are consuming less alcohol or no alcohol at all.