Health Japan experts: women face higher health risks from alcohol

In recent years, Japan has seen growing efforts to curb heavy drinking because of the health problems it can cause. Experts have pointed out that women, in particular, should be careful, since consuming alcohol at the same rate as men can lead them to develop conditions such as liver cirrhosis more quickly. Even so, awareness of women's higher vulnerability to alcohol remains limited.

According to the report, the daily amount of pure alcohol considered to pose a high risk is 40 grams or more for men and 20 grams or more for women. The amount of pure alcohol can be calculated by multiplying the "amount of a beverage consumed" by its "alcohol concentration" and then by 0.8. A 350-milliliter can of beer with 5% alcohol contains 14 grams of pure alcohol, meaning that about 2.8 cans and 1.4 cans would cause a high risk for men and women, respectively. Some alcoholic beverage companies in Japan now label their products with the amount of pure alcohol they contain.

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Data showed that 14.1% of men and 9.5% of women were drinking at levels considered high risk. Since 2010, the rate among men has barely changed, while the rate among women has been gradually increasing. When broken down by age, men in their forties showed the highest proportion at 23.6%, while among women, high-risk drinking was most common in their forties at 13.5% and in their fifties at 14.6%.

Although the dangers of alcohol for teenagers and people in their twenties—whose brains are still developing—are well recognised, women also face serious risks. The problem had long been underestimated because fewer women used to drink regularly. Only in recent years had efforts begun to promote awareness about suitable drinking habits for women, and many, she said, still did not realise when their consumption had become excessive.