We all do it. We all come home after a long day and treat ourselves to a glass of wine to 'take the edge off'. But it seems women are no longer stopping at just one glass. More than ever before, women are not just hitting the wine, they are doing something far more dangerous - getting behind the wheel of their car afterwards.
According to a recent study by Social Research Associates (SRA) on women and alcohol, the percentage of women in Britain convicted of drink driving has almost doubled in the past 15 years - from 9pc in 1998 to 17pc by 2012.
The research also notes that one in six female motorists believe they have driven over the limit in the past year. From the age of 30, women are now more likely to be over the legal limit than men. This is a shocking statistic.
The women surveyed gave different reasons for driving under the influence - some said it was getting unexpected calls from teenage children to pick them up. Others suggested it was a reluctance to use public transport late at night.
What's behind it all? In the last 50 years, women's attitudes to alcohol have changed dramatically. Our mothers' generation would never have gone into a pub on their own, people would have thought they were roaring alcoholics. Nor would our mothers have had bottles of wine stocked in the fridge between the milk and orange juice.
The difference nowadays is that alcohol is so readily available and cheap. You can pop a few bottles of wine into your shopping trolley along with your pork steaks and carrots. No one will think you're an alcoholic because it's 'normal'.
Anyone who doesn't have a few bottles of wine knocking around when you call in is now viewed as abnormal. And if, God forbid, you should run out of wine, you can always nip across to the local garage and stock up again.
With 50pc of alcohol sold in Ireland now bought for home consumption, it's clear Irish women are drinking a lot more than they used to.
In 1990, 7pc of alcohol consumed was wine; this has almost quadrupled to 26pc in 2011 and is expected to increase further by the end of 2014.
Source: Sinead Moriarty, Irish Independent, 12/11/14
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