Norwegian womens level of drinking is soon equal with men, shows a new report from the The Norwegian Institute for Alcohol and Drug Research. Young adult women in Oslo, the capital, drinks the most. Even though men still drink more than women, the difference has decreased. The percentage that are abstainers are stable, but those who drink are doing it more often and more.

Mimicking men
- Women are “mimicking” men. Since the male drinking pattern are more accepted in society, women takes after mens drinking habits, and not the other way around, says professor Edle Ravndal at SERAF (Center for drugs- and dependencies reseach to the Norwegian daily Dagbladet. In the book “Women and alcohol”, where Ravndal are co-author it says that women often attach there use of alcohol to male drinking-patterns, and that women therefore might have indirect use of prevention activities targeted med.

Young adult in Oslo drink most
Single women with higher education and high income drink most, and woman living in the Oslo-region drink more than in all other regions. Woman drink the most when they are between 20 and 30 years old. This is a phase of life which are marked by few familiy-obligations together with economic independence. That woman, and not just men, increasingly are living through such an economic independent and “child-free” young adult-phase, might also have an independent effect on the increase of womans alcohol use. That the drinking pattern between men and woman are more similar than earlier can in others words be explained be the fact that woman and mens life patterns are more similar in 2004, than in 1973.

Young adult womans consumption decreases and changes with age, probably because of increased care-obligations. This reduction are weaker though among woman in the Oslo-area than in other regions. Wedøy and Skretting are pointing out in the report that higher alcohol consumption among woman in an fertile age is a risk for fetal damage.

More alcohol-related injuries
The youngest in the report, which were 15-20 years old when they were interviews, showed an increased tendency to end up in fights. Other than that woman create less damage on “third-persons” when they are drinking, like fights or drunk driving, than men. The number of alcoholrelated injuries where woman are treaded has increased last 10 years. But both when it comes to how much and type of injuries there is less knowledge about the consequences of alcohol for woman health than for men. Regardless of this the autors are warning that the increase in consumption might have negative consequences for woman health in the future.

Read more about the report here