Ladies & Liquor: Unexpected Trends Revealed

Drinking recreationally is commonplace among men and women in the U.S.—we are college students after all. However, surpring new research shows that alcohol consumption by women is steadily rising, and is almost as high as male’s consumption rates according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health in the U.S. Now, collegiettes, don’t cheer just yet because you can drink as much as the boys.

Why do female consumption rates matter? For one, the rise in female drinkers seems to correlate with a spike in diagnoses of liver disease among American women. 

This pattern of recreational alcohol use in the U.S. has unexpectedly mirrored an earlier trend that occurred with tobacco popularity in the 1960s; when female smoker rates greatly increased, it brought rising lung cancer cases with it. Another similarity is that alcohol companies are now directing their advertisements towards women, the same way cigarette manufactures did over fifty years ago. 

You may have noticed that some liquor brands market their drinks as “diet” or as having “natural flavors.” This is an attempt to appeal to health-conscious women and increase their likelihood of buying the liquor.

Another surprising detail that recent studies have shown is that sale rates of cheaper, lesser-known alcohol brands made by college-aged women were low in that demographic, but greatly advertised brands like Budweiser, Miller, and Smirnoff had very high sales. Even though most college students budget their spending, alcohol is shown to be a minor exception for collegiettes. Although the exact reasons for increased alcohol consumption among women is still unknown, this finding has led researchers to suspect that the increased exposure to advertisements in the media, especially ones geared towards female drinkers, is the likely cause.

For now, substance abuse guidelines advise women to drink no more than two drinks a day, and ten drinks per week to help curb the health problems that have been rising among women. Now we at HC-UIowa are not discouraging you from drinking, we just want you all to drink safely and be aware of the outcome. Drink responsibly, collegiettes!

Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons

• college
• drinking
• hc uiowa