Are Women The New Problem Drinkers, Because They Are Lady Binge-Drinkers?

Another glass ceiling has been shattered by women, as “binge drinking” is no longer just something most men do all the time. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, one-in-four college ladies and one-in-eight of all gals over 18 are dangerous binge drinkers, consuming up to … four alcoholic beverages per “binge.” Four drinks is binge drinking, now?

These wild drunkards are going crazy with the four drinks up to … three times a month, according to the CDC. Well good gracious, that’s almost having drinks on a single night of every weekend, as long as you don’t drink at all on the fourth weekend. Further research may reveal these female boozebags are “going out to a nice dinner now and then, or maybe stopping by the occasional party for a couple of drinks,” on a total of three nights per month. Calm down, girls!

The young women most likely to engage in this sort of drinking behavior are white and wealthy, with household incomes of $75,000 or more. This connects with the CDC’s assertion that availability and affordability of alcohol has a lot to do with the prevalence of binge drinking.

The way to stop this scourge of the fairer sex occasionally enjoying adult beverages is, obviously, to “increase alcohol taxes, reduce the number and concentration of alcohol retailers in any given area, [and] reduce the days and hours of alcohol sales.” Some good old-fashioned church learning and less filthy teevee shows and sexting or whatever may also be advised.

Photo by Rande Archer.