Females Become Addicted Quicker, Easier
Updated June 08, 2015.
Compared to boys and men, girls and women become addicted to alcohol, nicotine and illegal and prescription drugs, and develop substance-related diseases at lower levels of use and in shorter periods of time, according to research by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.
According to the book "Women Under the Influence," which is an exhaustive 10-year analysis of substance abuse among girls and women, 15 million girls and women use illicit drugs and misuse prescription drugs, 32 million smoke cigarettes and six million are alcohol abusers and alcoholics.
"Our failure to confront the special needs of girls and women with substance abuse problems is inexcusable. The one size fits all prevention and treatment approach, largely driven by male substance abuse, has condemned millions of girls and women to tragic episodes of abuse and addiction that have ruined too many lives," said Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASA's chairman and president and former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare. "This book reveals that substance abuse affects all kinds of women-rich and poor, young and old, urban and rural, professional and homemaker."
"Women Under the Influence is a call to lift the stigma that keeps so many women from seeking help," said Peter R. Dolan, a CASA board member and chief executive officer of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. "It provides a template for parents, healthcare professionals, teachers, and public officials to recognize the special needs of girls and women and take action to address those needs."
According to the CASA research:
A single cigarette smoked by a woman has nearly the same carcinogenic effect as two smoked by a man, according to CASA research. Girls show symptoms of nicotine dependence more rapidly than boys.
Women smokers develop more severe respiratory diseases than men. Smoking while using oral contraceptives increases the risk of heart disease. The research also found that moking in early adolescence increases the risk of breast cancer.
Source: The above information is from the 292-page book, "Women Under the Influence," the result of 10 years of research by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University funded by the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, published by The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Compared to boys and men, girls and women become addicted to alcohol, nicotine and illegal and prescription drugs, and develop substance-related diseases at lower levels of use and in shorter periods of time, according to research by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.
According to the book "Women Under the Influence," which is an exhaustive 10-year analysis of substance abuse among girls and women, 15 million girls and women use illicit drugs and misuse prescription drugs, 32 million smoke cigarettes and six million are alcohol abusers and alcoholics.
"Our failure to confront the special needs of girls and women with substance abuse problems is inexcusable. The one size fits all prevention and treatment approach, largely driven by male substance abuse, has condemned millions of girls and women to tragic episodes of abuse and addiction that have ruined too many lives," said Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASA's chairman and president and former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare. "This book reveals that substance abuse affects all kinds of women-rich and poor, young and old, urban and rural, professional and homemaker."
"Women Under the Influence is a call to lift the stigma that keeps so many women from seeking help," said Peter R. Dolan, a CASA board member and chief executive officer of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. "It provides a template for parents, healthcare professionals, teachers, and public officials to recognize the special needs of girls and women and take action to address those needs."
According to the CASA research:
- At similar or lower levels of use, women develop more rapidly than men alcohol-related diseases like cirrhosis and hypertension, brain damage from alcohol abuse and Ecstasy, lung cancer and respiratory diseases like emphysema and chronic bronchitis from smoking.
- Women are likelier to develop depression, anxiety and eating disorders which are closely linked to smoking and alcohol and drug abuse.
- Women who use sedatives, anti-anxiety drugs and hypnotics are almost twice as likely as men to become addicted to such drugs.
Alcohol More Dangerous for Women
Because their bodies contain less water and more fatty tissue and because of decreased activity of the enzyme (ADH) that breaks down alcohol, one drink for a woman commonly has the impact of two drinks for a man. Moderate or heavy drinking increases the risk of breast cancer. Among alcohol abusers, older women suffer memory loss and mental deterioration after fewer years of drinking than older men.A single cigarette smoked by a woman has nearly the same carcinogenic effect as two smoked by a man, according to CASA research. Girls show symptoms of nicotine dependence more rapidly than boys.
Women smokers develop more severe respiratory diseases than men. Smoking while using oral contraceptives increases the risk of heart disease. The research also found that moking in early adolescence increases the risk of breast cancer.
Source: The above information is from the 292-page book, "Women Under the Influence," the result of 10 years of research by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University funded by the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, published by The Johns Hopkins University Press.
