Introduction
Alcohol is a legal beverage accessible to people from the age of 19 in most states, and in some states, adults can purchase alcohol once they turn 18. Moreover, it is easily accessible since the majority of grocery stores offer a variety of alcohol such as beer, wine, cider, spirits, and others. However, this is a substance that may lead to an addiction, which is a compulsive behavior leading to uncontrolled consumption (CSSA, 2020). Addiction is dangerous since it activates a person’s reward system and is often difficult to control. It can be either behavioral or related to the substance, which leads to a person using the substance despite its harmful effects. This report will address the statistics of alcohol abuse among women and discusses some organization that targets this problem.
Background Information and Statistics
The population of interest that I will review in this report are women. According to Tunney (2018), “recent numbers show alcohol abuse among women is on the rise” (para. 1). However, it is important to acknowledge that according to the Government of Canada (2021), approximately 80% of the citizens consume alcohol. Women are a population of interest because of the increased mortality rates from alcohol-related health complications and the effect of this substance on childbearing. Moreover, at certain stages in life, such as during pregnancy, women should not drink alcohol at all as it may harm the fetus, which may be difficult for females with an addiction. Hence, it is interesting to review the organizations and resources they offer to determine how women can get help if they have become addicted to alcohol.
Alcohol is a mood-altering substance, which means that people consume it not only due to pleasurable taste but also because it alters their emotions. Moreover, this substance affects the brain by activating the reward and pleasure sentence, resulting in “a sense of wellbeing, relaxation, disinhibition, and euphoria” (Government of Canada, 2021, para. 7). However, it has a range of negative short-term and long-term effects, which in essence can lead to death if the consumption becomes an addiction. According to the Government of Canada (2021), women should drink no more than two alcoholic beverages per day and limit their consumption to 10 drinks per week. Moreover, pregnant women should avoid exposure to alcohol. According to Tunney (2018), the state’s health minister has raised the question of women’s addiction to alcohol in 2018 since the number of alcohol-related deaths among this population has increased by 25% from 2011 to 2017. This is an alarming trend considering that more women die from alcohol addiction-related health effects when compared to men. This statistic also may suggest that this population is more prone to developing an addiction.
One factor that may explain the increased consumption of alcohol is the increased availability of these drinks and manufacturers offering products such as caffeinated canned beverages containing sugar and alcohol. In one case, a 14 years old female died after drinking one can of this product, which shows a disturbing trend not only in alcohol consumption but also in the development of new alcoholic beverages and their advertisement that target women. From the viewpoint of the social determinants of health, the accessibility, marketing, and social acceptance of drinking alcohol have a harmful effect on the discussed population. Ho (2019) notes that the country’s health officials plan on reviewing their guidelines and more regulations directed at alcohol due to an increasing number of women who consume alcohol.
The danger of alcohol addiction is that many people regularly drink alcohol in doses that exceed the ones the health authorities recommend as acceptable. According to CSSA (2017), approximately 5% to 10% of females develop an addiction to alcohol in their lifetime. Moreover, 49% of women over the age of 25 report being heavy drinkers (CSSA, 2017). As for the costs related to alcohol abuse, CSSA (2017) reports that between 2015 and 2016, 56,000 Canadians were hospitalized due to alcohol consumption. Moreover, the long-term consequences of addiction, especially the damage to the liver, also burden the healthcare system of the state. According to CSSA (2017), “alcohol was responsible for the greatest use of hospital resources among substance use disorders in terms of a number of stays, days stayed and cost” (p. 11).
Canadian Organizations
CSSA
The first organization that deals with alcohol addiction among females are the Canadian Center on Substance Use and Addiction (CSSA). CSSA was founded in 1988 by the Canadian government but is a non-governmental organization for profit organization (“About us,” n.d.). However, this organization is recognized as a charity foundation. The headquarters are located in Ottawa, but CSSA serves a variety of populations, mainly because this organization’s goal is to promote awareness about a variety of addictive substances to the citizens of Canada. However, this also means that this organization does not fully focus on the population is question-women with alcohol abuse disorder.
Sobriety Foundation
Sobriety Foundation is a not-for-profit organization located in Ottawa that was established in 2005. It is a rehab facility where people are treated for substance abuse disorders in an isolated environment. This organization has been accredited by the Ministry of Health and Social Services (“About Sobriety Home,” n.d.). Apart from the head office in Ottawa, there are several other locations across the provinces. This organization has programs designed for different populations, including women, and targets addiction to different types of substances.
Alcove
Alcove or Addiction Recovery for Women is a local non-for-profit organization located in Calgary. Alcove is one of the not many agencies that specifically target substance abuse of women. Since this is a not-for-profit organization, Alcove accepts donations as a way to support its operations. Alcove has been active for over forty years, and since its establishment, its mission was to empower women (“About Alcove,” n.d.). Hence, this organization is of particular interest considering the scope of this report because it exclusively serves women who live in Alberta and struggle with substance abuse.
Organization’s Response to Addiction
CSSA’s main objectives are to fund research and provide guidelines to the general population. Hence it addresses women’s alcohol addiction through education. Since CSSA funds the research and disseminates information about addiction, it acts as an important source of knowledge both for professionals and women who seek help with their addiction. This organization does not declare a specific harm policy.
Sobriety Foundation is a medical center, meaning women can be admitted there for a rehabilitation program. Specifically, women can be admitted to the facility and engaged in supervised activities, including psychotherapy, as well as providing nutrition and other vital services while they learn to overcome their addiction. This organization uses a holistic approach to substance abuse treatment, focusing on educating patients to cope with their issues. Similarly, to the previous organization, Alcove is a recovery facility that treats only women on site of their recovery center. This organization has a no-harm policy, according to which they employ only evidence-based methods when approaching the treatment of their patients.
CSSA’s Social Work and Accountability
Although CSSA is succeeding at informing the general population about the different types of addiction and problems associated with them, the organization lacks resources to support women with alcohol abuse disorder, despite this being an increasingly recognized problem in Canada. However, its work dedicated to information for the general population is extensive. For example, CSSA developed the Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines (LRDG), which is a guideline with recommendations regarding the safe practices of alcohol consumption (CSSA, 2020). According to CSSA (2020), “CCSA exists to give Canadian organizations, policymakers and the public the best, most reliable information about substance use so they can make better decisions and reduce the harms of stigma” (p. 1). Hence, the majority of this organization’s work is directed at informing the population and policymakers. One suggestion for addressing the needs of the population in question is funding research that would help understand the exact reasons behind the increase in alcohol abuse among women. This type of study would help design policies and strategies to address this problem.
CSSA is accountable for its work because the organization publishes annual corporate reports that reflect its achievements in comparison to the targets it has set. In its report for 2019-2020, CSSA addresses its successes, such as the development of an information mobile application on substance abuse designed specifically to help the attendees of the organization’s conference (CSSA, 2020). Additionally, pertaining to substance abuse among women, CSSA created and hosted a workshop designed to address the social and gender stigma relating to substance abuse. Thus, I can conclude that this organization measures its impact by examining the events it hosted that targeted the dissemination of information in each category of interest, such as alcohol abuse, cannabis, substance abuse among youth, social stigma, and others. CSSA measures the impact by analyzing the number of attendees and their satisfaction rates.
CSSA appears in the media since this is a national organization, and its primary purpose is to spread information.
CSSA partners with governmental and non-governmental agencies on several of its projects. For example, the above-mentioned LRDG was developed with the help and funding from the Health Ministry. Additionally, the management has launched the Partnerships for Cannabis
Policy Evaluation together with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) (CSSA, 2021). In general, it appears that partnerships with other organizations are an integral part of CSSA’s work.
The organization’s information resources are highly accessible since they are available through the CSSA’s website. Some information, such as the latest research and policy recommendations, are available through CSSA’s conferences and workshops, which are accessible primarily to medical professionals or policymakers. Additionally, CSSA’s information is inclusive since this organization sponsors substance abuse research for different populations and varied substances. Thus, CSSA provides a comprehensive analysis of the substance abuse problems in Canada for a variety of demographics.
CSSA is engaged in advocacy work, for example, it promotes the need to address the social stigma associated with addiction (CSSA, 2020). This is an important area of concern that would allow people to seek help without the fear of being judged. Additionally, CSSA is engaged in policy advocacy relating to youth substance abuse and community-related issues. Despite this extensive work, CSSA does not seem to pay sufficient attention to the issue of substance abuse among women. Hence, one area of improvement would be to advocate for more research in this area and prepare workshops that would help policymakers understand this problem better.
Conclusion
In summary, through this assignment, I learned about alcohol abuse among women. In Canada, from 5% to 10% of females are affected by alcohol abuse disorder, although approximately 80% of adults consume alcohol, and 49% of women over the age of 25 are heavy drinkers. In recent years, the problem of alcohol consumption among this population intensified, and the percentage of women who died from alcohol-related complications increased by 25%. Apart from this, alcohol abuse is a danger to pregnant women because it can affect the development of the fetus. One of the key factors that impact the intensification of this issue is the social determinants of health, such as marketing and the development of products that combine alcohol, sugar, and caffeine. Additionally, the healthcare cost burden due to this issue is significant since thousands of Canadians are admitted to hospitals with acute conditions caused by alcohol or have complications due to their addiction. Additionally, I researched and learned more about these organizations: CSSA, Sobriety Home, and Alcove. CSSA is a national for-profit organization that focuses on education and promotion of awareness, while the latter two are rehabilitation facilities.
References
About Alcove. (n.d.). Web.
About Sobriety Home. (n.d.). Web.
About us. (n.d.). Web.
Canadian Center on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA). (2017). Alcohol. Web.
CSSA. (2020). Informing change. Annual report 2019-2020. Web.
The Government of Canada. (2021). Alcohol. Web.
Ho, S. (2019). Worrying rise in alcohol-related harm among women, CAMH says. CTV News. Web.
Tunney, C. (2018). We’re ignoring Canada’s alcohol problem, chief public health officer warns. CBC. Web.