Once upon a time, there was a frog pond where there was a major health crisis: all the residents were developing troublesome growths and becoming sterile. One evening, the frog bosses gathered, deciding to bring in plastic surgeons and fertility experts to address the problem. But one wise female challenged the decision. “Maybe,” she said, “there’s something in the water.” I’m here to tell you: there’s something in the water. Of course, there is. We live in an alcogenic culture, one where risky drinking has been normalized, and glamourized. We swim in an ocean of advertising, and that advertising says one thing: drink, and great things will happen: you’ll be surrounded by great friends, invited to all the cool parties, and even fall in love. We romance the glass. We absorb this in our pores. In fact, it’s so prevalent, we barely notice that we’re being sold a lifestyle. Alcohol: it’s legal, it’s everywhere—and yes, It’s our favourite drug. Now, there has been an epidemic during the pandemic—an epidemic in women’s risky drinking. In fact, we live in a culture that now sees motherhood as synonymous with the need to numb or celebrate or escape with alcohol. We live in a culture where drinking is viewed as a great reward for what ails us. Know your wines? You’re sophisticated. Know your vodkas? You’re hip. Your coolers? You’re young and female. We all know the downsides of transfats, and the upsides of living gluten-free. But alcohol? We like to think of a glass of red as good for your health—like dark chocolate or Vitamin D. Or wine is just a pairing—a food group. A drug? Never. Illicit drugs kill more every year, right? Wrong, Alcohol takes that Number One spot. Who knew.
In Canada, where I live, a full 80 per cent of those over 15 drink. In our culture, we tend to “other” those with drinking problems: the homeless guy on the park bench with the brown paper bag. That’s an outmoded cliché. In fact, in a study released at the end of September, half of Canadians now say that alcohol abuse has become a problem in their social circles. Overdoses and alcohol-related deaths have risen since 2020. And as a culture, we tend to remain remarkably under-educated on the health risks of alcohol. Fifteen percent of breast-cancer cases, for instance, are attributable to alcohol: it is thought only five percent of women have absorbed this fact. Or that there is a connection between alcohol and more than 200 diseases and cancers. Recently, when Canada announced that the safe drinking guideline was to have no more than two measured drinks a week—two five-ounce glasses of wine— the public rolled their eyes. In fact, experts announced there were no safe drinking levels: alcohol was simply not good for your health. Men and women may be democratically equal, and go toe-to-toe in the workplace—but we tend to discount the fact that hormonally and metabolically, women process alcohol much differently than men. And this is not a matter of just body size. Telescoping is real. Women become addicted faster than men, with a much smaller intake of alcohol. Are we having a public health dialogue about this? I think not.
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