Rates of heavy drinking in Aotearoa New Zealand are starting to decline, matching trends seen in Europe. This may reflect greater awareness of the harm caused by alcohol, as well as financial pressures and the reduced affordability of alcohol products. Despite this modest drop in consumption, inequity in the damage from alcohol remains, with more people living in deprivation , and more Māori still drinking heavily and experiencing disproportionate harm – including fetal alcohol syndrome disorder ( FASD ).
This is even more so among women than men. Women living in deprivation are twice as likely to be drinking heavily than those not in deprivation. FASD is caused by exposure to alcohol before birth, and there is no treatment.
The condition is lifelong and can cause learning difficulties, impulsiveness, explosive behaviour and inability to understand consequences. It’s a constellation that adds up to difficulty within families, in school and in broader society. A lack of recognition and resource places a heavy burden on families struggling to cope with these impacts.
This further exacerbates inequities and the failures of our education and care systems. Women at risk While women have long drunk less than men, and still do on average, there have also been heavy drinking subgroups, especially among younger women. These are likely to have contributed to current FASD figures.
Survey data collected in 2011 revealed a small cluster of young women who were consuming a huge quant.