Men and women are not equal

Whilst it may be International Women’s Day today, it is an accepted scientific fact that there is no gender equality when considering how men and women process alcohol. Most people are aware of the need to not simply gauge your ability to drive based on the units you drink. Units are a measurement offered by the medical profession as a guide for healthy consumption. You also need to be conscious of many more variable factors when considering mixing drinking and driving, although obviously, the safest way you can approach a car after having drunk alcohol is in the back of one!

• If you are calorie counting, you should be aware that if you drink on an empty stomach, this massively affects your alcohol absorption and elimination rates meaning, you will not only feel the effects of alcohol more quickly if you do not eat with your drinks but it will also take a lot longer to leave your system. Eating on an empty stomach will not be a valid defence if you are found to be over the drink drive limit.
• Men and women’s absorption rates are massively different so don’t try to “keep up with the lads” and expect to match them on how quickly alcohol will leave your system. The contrast is thought to be due to a number of differences between our respective physiologies:

• Fat- the fat concentration in the female body is at a higher ratio than that of a man. Fat does not absorb alcohol meaning that alcohol appears in a more highly concentrated form in the bloodstream of women. Therefore, women experience alcohol-induced intoxication more quickly than men.
• Hormones – The same hormonal changes that can affect the mood around a woman’s “time of the month” can also cause women to become intoxicated more quickly. This is particularly so during the days just before the start of the periods. If a woman also takes birth control pills containing estrogen, this can also extend the effects of intoxication. The contraceptive pill slows down the rate at which the body is able to eliminate the alcohol content.
• Alcohol dilution: Water makes up a significant part of our biological makeup with the male form containing around 61 percent, and the average woman’s form containing around 52 percent. The higher concentration of water means that a man’s body is naturally able to dilute alcohol more efficiently than a woman’s body. This is regardless of how much a man or woman weighs.
  Metabolism: the enzyme that metabolizes alcohol, dehydrogenase, before it passes into the bloodstream is present in a lower concentration in the average female body. This also contributes to a female’s inability to process and eliminate alcohol as quickly as a man’s body.

• Remember a glass of wine is dependent on the size of the glass! Some glasses, particularly those used at home are huge in comparison to pub measures.
• Different alcohol contains different %.

It is rare for our clients facing a drink drive conviction to deliberately get in the car knowing they must be over the limit. They often simply do not appreciate the biological variables and make a poor error of judgement. That one mistaken or foolish decision can be life changing with the following possible consequences accompanying a conviction:

1. Mandatory minimum penalty of 12 month disqualification and a fine of 1.5 weeks’ net wages;
2. For repeat offenders (within a 10 year period) mandatory minimum penalty of 36 month disqualification and a fine of 1.5 weeks’ net wages;
3. Possible prison sentence in repeat offender cases;
4. Criminal record;
5. Possible professional consequences such as loss of job/licence to practice;
6. Significant insurance increases;
7. Restrictions on foreign travel; and
8. Reputational damage