Why is drinking too much especially dangerous for women?

Drinking too much can seriously affect the health of women and girls.

• Drinking too much is a risk factor for many health and social problems that affect women, including unintentional injuries, violence, liver disease, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, breast and other cancers, reduced cognitive function and alcohol dependence.
• Women’s and girls’ bodies respond to alcohol differently than men’s. It takes less alcohol for women to get intoxicated because of their size and how they process alcohol.
• Binge drinking can lead to unintended pregnancies. It is not safe to drink at any time during pregnancy.
• If women binge drink while pregnant, they risk exposing their developing baby to high levels of alcohol, increasing the chances the baby will be harmed by the mother’s alcohol use.