Do you have any studies or evidence to back that up?
I do remember reading (this was a while back, numbers could have changed) that drinking and driving rates were considerably higher among the economically advantaged -- one of the few health risk factors where this was the case.
Who said anything about drinking & driving?
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I have never seen any evidence of this but it is certainly true that the rich can get drunk at home and out of sight while the poor tend to drink outside and are more visible. There is also the fact that if you are a rich alcoholic you will eventually end up as a poor one.
Perhaps I'm wrong, surely those stumbling; vulgar; droopy eyed characters I came across at Queen/Sherbourne are actually yuppie investment bankers in disguise out on a Sunday stroll, next time I'll be sure to approach them for some hot stock tips.
Study links poverty and alcohol use
Written by: SHARON LEM, QMI Agency
Mar. 4, 2011
TORONTO - Men living in poor neighbourhoods like to consume three times as many alcoholic drinks per week than their female counterparts, a new study shows.
"Surprisingly, where a woman lives really doesn't impact her tendency to drink alcohol despite whether women live in poor or wealthy neighbourhoods," said Flora Matheson, a researcher at St. Michael's Hospital and the lead author of the study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
Women in poor neighbourhoods drank 2.6 alcoholic drinks (either wine, beer or hard liquor) per week on average versus women living in affluent neighbourhoods who drank 2.2 alcoholic drinks each week.
Men living in poor neighbourhoods, however, drank 8.5 alcoholic drinks weekly, compared to men in wealthy neighbourhoods who drank 4.5 alcoholic drinks per week. The study examined a national sample of 93,457 Canadians living in urban neighbourhood areas.
Research suggests the consumption gap between genders may have something to do with aspects of the environment that promote heavy drinking as well as how men and women cope with stress.
If a person lives in a neighbourhood culture that promotes and supports heavier alcohol use, rather than sanctioning it, then you might be influenced to drink more.
Other research suggests that poor communities are more likely to support a substance use or abuse culture.
Matheson speculates another reason which could contribute to why men may drink more than women could occur because men are more risk-takers and tend to externalize stress by drinking, while women tend to internalize stress in the form of depression or anxiety.
Matheson said there are few studies such as hers which looked at neighbourhood poverty and drinking, comparing both men and women.
"I was curious when I saw the results of this study because they hadn't been demonstrated in literature before," Matheson said.
"We can bridge the gap by providing clinical services which are directly related to educating those at high risk and provide low-fee counselling to reach men living in poor neighbourhoods," Matheson suggested.
A poor neighbourhood includes a large portion of the population with less than a high school education, lone-parent families, people receiving social assistance, high unemployment, many buildings in disrepair and families in financial difficulty.
