Holiday drinking to oblivion

The number of young women indulging in binge drinking soars when they go on holiday, according to a survey.

Some are downing more than a bottle of wine every day they are away.

In seven days, they are consuming more than five weeks of recommended 'safe' levels of alcohol.

Women aged 20 to 30 normally have around ten drinks a week at home - within the safe limit of up to 14 units.

But when they reach their favourite holiday haunts in Greece and Spain, there is a threefold rise in the number drinking above the recommended levels, from 22 per cent to 80 per cent.

Almost half of those surveyed admit to having between 25 and 49 units a week.

This level of binge drinking puts both their physical health and personal safety at serious risk, say experts.

The survey by Company magazine found that one in three women has had sex with a man they don't find attractive, and one in four admits to total memory loss triggered by heavy drinking.

Company editor Victoria White said 'Not only are 22 per cent of women exceeding the recommended unit level during a normal working week at home, but they are clearly throwing all caution to the wind once the plane touches down in the sun.

'There are real causes for concern with up to two-thirds of women saying they've been seriously ill on holiday through drinking too much.

'But that doesn't seem to stop 90 per cent of women admitting they drink nearly every day while they're on holiday.'

Young British women drink more than their counterparts in any other part of Europe.

Experts blame changing patterns of drinking behaviour, especially binge drinking, which carries particular health dangers.

Doctors say it can damage the liver and has been responsible for a startling rise in cases of cirrhosis at a far younger age than it is normally found. Binge drinking is also blamed for increasing heart disease and a surge in mouth cancer in young women.

Women are at greater risk than men of harming their health because they find it harder to process alcohol, leaving the liver more vulnerable.

It also raises the chances of breast cancer. Excessive drinking is implicated in 33,000 deaths a year and rising.

Safe drinking guidelines recommend two units a day, with a unit being a half-pint of beer, pub measure of spirits or small glass of wine.

The survey of 1,000 women aged 20 to 30 found that 1 per cent abstain from alcohol on holiday, with 18 per cent drinking within safe limits. One in three (31 per cent) drink between 15 and 25 units a week, 46 per cent between 25 and 49 units and 3 per cent have more than 50 units a week.

More than 60 per cent who completed the website questionnaire said they regularly suffer dehydration caused by heavy drinking, with one-fifth suffering such bad hangovers they cannot leave their holiday apartment.

Two out of five admit to walking home alone, while one-third have gone home with a man they just met.

Just over one-quarter said they had suffered total memory loss of the night before.

The top holiday destination was Greece (37 per cent), followed by Spain (34 per cent) and Cyprus (19 per cent). Miss White said: 'It is easy to be safe on holiday. Try to alternate each drink with water and, believe me, you'll not only feel a thousand times better in the morning, but chances are you won't wake up with a man you wouldn't look twice at either.'

The change in the culture of the weekend, with Sunday becoming a party night on a par with Friday and Saturday, is a major factor.

There has been a 6 per cent increase in absenteeism on Mondays, a symptom of what employers are calling the 'long-weekend' effect, according to the survey by legal firm Shepherd and Wedderburn.