Fond of the drink: Irish women ranked 7th in world for drinking

Aug 24, 2018

It seems we are fond of our drink.

Our cheeky glass of wine or night out with the gals have earned us a reputation of drinking more daily, than our male counterparts on an international scale.

A study conducted by the University of Washington, says Irish women are consuming three alcoholic beverages a day.

Whereas the lads aren't so thirsty – having around four and a half drinks a day.

In fact, Irish men don't even make it into the top ten for male drinking on a global scale.

However, we are now seventh in the world for our daily consumption of alcohol.- Opps.

The Global Burden of Diseases study was completed by the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), warns us to watch our wine.

The study said our habit of having a cheeky glass of wine could be very deceptive.

Unbeknownst to women, instead of having one measure we could actually be pouring ourselves three measures in one glass of wine.

The scientists compiled figures from 694 data sources and 592 studies to gather information on 195 countries from 1990 to 2016.

The countries with the biggest death rates associated to alcohol among 15 to 49-year-olds in 2016, were Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, Mongolia, Latvia, Kazakhstan, Lesotho, Burundi, and the Central African Republic.

Kuwait, Iran, Palestine, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Jordan, Syria, the Maldives and Singapore had the lowest rates of death in the same year.

According to their findings which was published in the Lancet journal, even one daily drink could potentially increase the chances of contracting 23 alcohol-related health problems.

Alcohol use is a leading risk factor for disease burden worldwide, accounting for nearly 10 percent of global deaths among populations aged 15–49 years, says the study.

In 2016, 2.8 million deaths were attributed to alcohol use and it was ranked as the seventh leading risk factor for premature death and disability, according to the report.

“The health risks associated with alcohol are massive,” said Dr Emmanuela Gakidou of the IHME and the senior author of the study.

“Our findings are consistent with other recent research, which found clear and convincing correlations between drinking and premature death, cancer, and cardiovascular problems.

"Zero alcohol consumption minimises the overall risk of health loss.”

Currently, most alcohol guidelines says there are health benefits associated with consuming up to two drinks per day.

However, the researchers insist that their findings show that the safest level of drinking is none.

“There is a compelling and urgent need to overhaul policies to encourage either lowering people’s levels of alcohol consumption or abstaining entirely,” she said.

“The myth that one or two drinks a day are good for you is just that – a myth. This study shatters that myth.”