From: [C reuters] at [clari.net] (Reuters)
Newsgroups: clari.world.europe.northern,clari.news.alcohol+drugs,clari.news.women
Subject: Women become more addicted to drugs-Sweden study
Organization: Copyright 1996 by Reuters
Date: Tue, 23 Jul 1996 7:50:13 PDT
Expires: Tue, 30 Jul 1996 7:50:13 PDT
                                         
         STOCKHOLM, Sweden (Reuter) - Women are more likely to become  
heavily addicted to drugs than men, according to a Swedish 
scientific study published Tuesday. 
         The Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and Other  
Drugs said a study of 20,000 Swedish drug users found that 51 
percent of women users had severe drug addiction while only 46 
percent of male users were considered heavily addicted. 
         ``We found that women were less involved in drugs than men,  
but the women had more severe drug abuse problems,'' Siv 
Byqvist, a researcher for the study, told Reuters. 
         The study, in which 79 percent of participants were men and  
21 percent women, found women tended to use different types of 
drugs than men. 
         ``They used more opiates and amphetamines and less cannabis  
than men,'' Byqvuist said. ``They also injected more drugs and 
used more on a daily basis.'' 
         Female drug users also tended to be younger than their male  
counterparts. 
         ``Twelve percent of the female drug users were under 20  
years old. For men, eight percent were under 20 years,'' Byqvist 
said.