Experts Blame Women For Rise In US Alcohol Consumption
A new study reveals Americans are now drinking just as much alcohol as they did during the Civil War – and women are fully responsible for the spike.
The study, conducted by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, found the average American consumes 50 percent more wine and 60 percent more hard alcohol than in 1995. And at least one demographer attributes the rise to women.
“The story is women,” says Iowa State University’s Susan Stewart. “Wines are marketed to women: the fancy labels with the flowers on them and the pretty colors. It’s infiltrated our daily activities that didn’t typically involve alcohol, like sporting events, or a 5K; there’s a beer tent at the end.”
In fact, statistics show while men once outnumbered women three to one in drinking and binge drinking, the genders are now close to even. “We have the whole idea of ‘wine moms,’ women who have a glass of wine after a long day of looking after the kids,” says Rod Phillips, a professor of history at Carleton University.
