According to the Becky Medhurst of the DrinkAwareTrust in the UK, the latest statistics on women and alcohol are shocking - but what do they actually mean? The Office for National Statistics says 2% of women aged 16 to 24 drink everyday, but the figure doubles for women aged 25 to 44 and doubles again, so 8%, for those over 45. Whether you are  a career woman at a bar after work, a stressed Mum drinking at home, or in front of the TV with a bottle of wine, drinking more than your daily unit guidelines, whatever your age, can have serious health consequences.

Drinkaware advises that women stick to the recommended guidelines of 2-3 units per day - the equivalent of a 175ml glass of wine or 3 single vodkas. So whether you've just put the kids to bed or you're meeting your friends down the pub, try to stick to the unit guidelines, avoid drinking on an empty stomach and rehydrate with plenty of water. And to make it easy to calculate the units in your favourite drink (and to find out it’s calorie content) visit the Drinkaware Site. Other tests and tips on the site are the DrinkCheck, Dealing with a Hangover and Tips on Cutting Down.

So what are these horrific consequences of drinking alcohol for women? Even in small amounts, alcohol affects women differently to men and studies suggest that women appear be more prone to liver disease, hepatitis and breast cancer. Alcohol can also affect your chances of conceiving a child. As well as serious health risks, women who drink heavily are also putting themselves at risk of a range of health and personal problems, including depression, disturbed sleep and compromised personal safety.