Organ Damage: Compared to men, women experience significantly shorter intervals between their first use of alcohol and onset of significant alcohol-related problems. Whereas men usually experience alcohol-related problems after 10-12 years of use, women on average experience problems within 5-7 years of use. This accelerated course is known as “telescoping”.
Breast Cancer: Alcohol consumption is consistently associated with the risk of breast cancer. Alcohol increases the levels of estrogen and other hormones associated with hormone-receptors. Alcohol also may increase breast cancer risk by damaging DNA in cells. Researchers now state “there is no safe amount of alcohol” and women who have a history of breast cancer in their family should limit their use to 1-2 drinks per week, while women who have or have had breast cancer should not be drinking at all.

Liver Damage: Women are more affected by liver disease from alcohol, have an increased prevalence of acute liver failure, and suffer liver disease such as hepatitis and cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver. Statistics indicate there is an uptick of “epidemic proportions” of women 18-25 diagnosed with liver disease – thinking this is a disease of older alcoholics. Many young people have no knowledge of alcohol’s effect. Unfortunately, the diagnosis of cirrhosis of the liver may not be made until autopsy.

The Brain: Women have received little attention in the research to date. Evidence now indicates that many of the behavioural aspects of the effect of alcohol progress more rapidly among women than among men, and women are more vulnerable to alcohol-induced brain damage than men. Using MRI images, researchers found that regions of the brain involved in coordinating multiple brain functions are significantly affected. Alcohol affects short-term memory functions, so information is not transferred to long-term memory banks. It is not a question of not remembering – the information is not available to retrieve. Alcohol also affects the nerve cells in the brain, interfering with the cells’ function and how they communicate with other cells.

Women’s bodies contain proportionately 25% less water than men. Alcohol goes through body water to every cell of the body, and collects in organs with higher concentrations of water, such as the brain, liver, heart, colon, pancreas, and kidneys, resulting in these organs being more vulnerable to differences in body weight.

LESS ENZYMES IN THE STOMACH, SMALL INTESTINE AND LIVER
Women differ in their ability to metabolize and absorb alcohol compared to men. The difference is due to the variations in the amount of the enzyme responsible for metabolizing alcohol. Women have less of the enzyme in their stomach, small intestine and liver. As 30% of the alcohol is absorbed through the stomach directly into the bloodstream, this means that alcohol goes through the bloodstream to all cells of the body less diluted and in higher concentrations.

The International Agency for Research has for decades classified alcohol as a #1 preventable carcinogen to humans, behind tobacco and asbestos – especially for women. The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA) drastically reduced what is considered low-risk drinking from 10 drinks a week for women and 15 for men to new proposed low-risk guidelines of 1-2 drinks a week for both men and women.
The CCSA acknowledges that substance abuse is an important consideration for all women, and that women’s health includes all women, not just cisgender. Women are particularly susceptible to alcohol-related harms due to sex (biological and gender) and social factors (which still judge alcohol and drug abuse in women more harshly than men).