A dangerous thirst for success

High-flying women are more likely than men to turn to the bottle, according to new research from University College London. The researchers questioned 8,000 government employees and found that one in seven senior female executives had a drink problem, compared with one in eight men.

And the more high-powered the woman, the more likely she is to drink excessively, with senior executives nearly four times more likely to have a problem than women working in the typing pool. The rates for men were much the same, whatever their job. The research suggests that climbing the career ladder is far more of a challenge for women than men, and that more of them turn to the bottle to relieve work-related stress - at least in the Civil Service, anyway.

But that isn't what caught my eye - it's the absolute numbers involved that worry me the most. If the researchers' findings are representative-of Britain as a whole, then there are at least three million alcoholics out there.

Alcohol kills 30,000 people every year, 15 times the number killed by drugs. Twice as many people are addicted to alcohol as to drugs (both prescription and illegal), but nearly six years after the introduction of the National Drugs Strategy, the Government has yet to come up with an equivalent plan for alcohol.

In the meantime, the services who deal with alcohol-related problems - both within the NHS and the voluntary sector - are in crisis due to lack of resources. According to the charity Alcohol Concern, the Government spent £400 million on treating drug-related problems in 2001, compared to a paltry £7 million on alcohol, even though alcohol cost the NHS and the economy nearly £10 billion in the same year.

There has been much debate recently about the pros and cons of the Government's drug strategy, particularly the controversial reclassification of cannabis, but is the biggest risk to our health much closer to home? Alcohol - not cannabis, heroin, ecstasy or cocaine - is the most widely used and abused drug in our society, and it causes more death, pain and suffering than all the illicit drugs put together.

Do you have a drink problem?

The following questionnaire is a useful screening tool used by doctors to pick up people at risk from alcohol.

Have you ever felt you should cut down on your drinking?

Have you ever been annoyed by people criticising your drinking?

Have you felt guilty about drinking?

Have you ever had an "eye-opener" - a drink to steady your nerves or get you going in the morning?

Answering yes to two or more of the above suggests that you have a drink problem. Call Drinkline, on 0800 917 8282, for free and confidential advice.