Women More susceptible to Effects of Drug, Alcohol Abuse

More than 20 million girls and women in the United States abuse drugs and alcohol, and 30 million more are addicted to cigarettes, according to a 10-year research effort from the National Center on Addiction and substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.

The study documents how women, pound for pound, not only get drunk or high faster than men, but also become addicted more easily.

A woman’s body contains less water and more fatty tissue—which increases alcohol absorption—compared to a male body. And women have a lower activity level of an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), which breaks down alcohol.

Males and females abuse drugs for different reasons. For example, teenage girls are more likely than boys to abuse substances in order to lose weight, relieve stress or boredom, improve their mood, reduce sexual inhibitions, self-medicate depression and increase confidence according to CASA.

Counselor August 2006