CHEAP alcohol and a binge-drinking "ladette" culture has been blamed for an alarming rise in the number of young women dying from alcohol-related diseases in Glasgow.
The increasing number of females who are taking advantage of cheaper alcohol and matching male drinkers in the city's bars and nightclub venues are falling victim to cirrhosis of the liver and other illnesses at an earlier age than in the past, a report out today warns.
Researchers from the Glasgow Centre for Population Health say deaths connected to drinking among females are now increasing at the same rate as that for men, despite a fall in the overall number of such deaths across the UK.
They found women born in the 1970s began dying in notable numbers in the 1990s and 2000s, chiefly from cirrhosis of the liver, but also after suffering mental health issues.
Previously, heart disease and stroke used to explain excess deaths among those under the age of 65 in Glasgow. But since 1993, alcohol, drugs, suicide and violence have taken over where cardiovascular disease left off.
However, a minimum price for alcohol will not be enough to combat Scotland's deep-rooted culture of problem drinking, the study warns. Women are advised to drink no more than two to three units of alcohol a day – the equivalent of one 175ml glass of wine or in total three standard sized-shots or spirits. Men are permitted three or four units a day.
But the report's author, Dr Deborah Shipton, said: "In the last 20 to 30 years we have seen a dramatic rise in the number of alcohol-related deaths in Scotland and Glasgow in particular."
Dr Shipton added she did not know how much the ladette culture in the 1990s had contributed, but she added: "Women are now drinking a lot more and are doing a lot more binge drinking."
Researchers focused on Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester to see if there were any factors that might help explain the higher rate of early deaths, which began to rise sharply in 1993, in Scotland. Today's report is published in the British Medical Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
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