Alcohol, tobacco and cannabis use by women working in 'male-dominated' industries

Jane Fischer, Ann Roche, Kenneth Pidd, Nicole Lee

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

Abstract

Introduction and Aims: There is increasing concern regarding alcohol and other drug use in a range of Australian industries. Nearly 45% of the Australian workforce are women (n = 5,260,000). The purpose of this study was to investigate female patterns of alcohol consumption, tobacco smoking and cannabis use across Australian industries.Design and Methods: Secondary data analysis of the 2010 Australian National Drug Strategy Household Survey. The exposure of interest is “industry”, defined by the Australian and New Zealand Classification Standards (2006). Industries were categorised as either “male”, “female” or “transgender” (n = 17,126). “Male”-dominated industries are those with at least twice as many male than female workers. The main outcomes of interest were risky alcohol consumption in the short term, tobacco smoking and cannabis use in the last month among females.Results: Within male-dominated industries, females were significantly less likely than their male counterparts to consume alcohol at risk, smoke tobacco or to use cannabis (e.g. high risk alcohol consumption: 16.8% vs. 83.2% χ2 66.28 df3 P= 0.000). Females working in male-dominated industries were also significantly less likely than females in other industries to consume alcohol at risky levels, smoke tobacco or to use cannabis (e.g. high-risk alcohol consumption: 9.6% vs. 46.3% vs. 43.1% χ2 33.64 df6 P= 0.000).Discussion and Conclusions: The prevalence of women’s risky alcohol consumption, tobacco smoking and cannabis use differ between male-dominated, female-dominated and transgender industries. Potential findings will be discussed including implications for tailoring interventions that best meet the needs of women working in specific industries
Original languageEnglish
Pages51
Number of pages1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2012
EventAustralasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs Conference 2012 - Melbourne, Australia
Duration: 18 Nov 201221 Nov 2012

Conference

ConferenceAustralasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs Conference 2012
Abbreviated titleAPSAD 2012
Country/TerritoryAustralia
CityMelbourne
Period18/11/1221/11/12

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