Far less research on women's drinking behaviour has taken place within Europe, despite the fact that there are a number of important reasons to focus on European women's drinking. There is no single drinking culture in Europe. In fact, Europe is made up of a variety of different drinking traditions. Moreover, it has been pointed out that the size of gender differences in drinking behaviour varies by cultures. This a further reason to study women's drinking behaviour in relation to men's on a pan-European level. It appears that until now there has been no comprehensive gathering and summarising of how the drinking cultures across various European countries look with respect to gender. Therefore, the present study was designed to specifically address alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems among women in nine European countries: The Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Scotland, Sweden and Switzerland.
Objectives: The concerted action began its work with the following set of original measurable objectives: (1) Using data sets of the study countries, standardised units to compare alcohol consumption were to be developed, and standard measures and approaches for future measurement of alcohol consumption which are gender- sensitive to be recommended. (2) To investigate differences in drinking patterns and acute alcohol-related problems within and between countries. This was done by looking at differences between men and women, and among women. (3) To review registry data in each partner country for "chronic consequences" of alcohol consumption. The first task was to review the morbidity and mortality registry data in each country for its availability and to determine the process by which such data are collected. The second step was to examine the relationship of alcohol intake across gender with the identified common set of data for chronic consequences if the data were valid enough to make such a comparison. The project was meant to co-ordinate and facilitate the comparison of European health data, and to facilitate a common methodology for interpreting them. In addition, by examining trends and changes in the drinking patterns and rates of alcohol problems among women, the project was to identify indicators for health risk behaviours in this population. Thus, the results of this concerted action should help put in place a harmonised methodology and the necessary expertise to monitor changes in alcohol health data as a result of European Union market policies and specific European Union public health policy regulations, directives, and resolutions.