TOKYO -- In Japan, more people are trying to avoid drinking too much alcohol because it can cause health problems. Experts say women need to be extra careful, because they can get sick from alcohol faster than men.

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Yoko Muramatsu, a researcher, compiled a report on alcohol. She says that drinking 40 grams or more of pure alcohol a day is high risk for men, but for women, just 20 grams is high risk. For example, one 350-milliliter can of beer (5% alcohol) has 14 grams of pure alcohol. This means men are at high risk if they drink about 2.8 cans a day, and women if they drink about 1.4 cans a day.

Some drinks in Japan now show how much pure alcohol they contain.

A survey found that 14.1% of men and 9.5% of women in Japan drink at high-risk levels. For women, the number is going up, especially for those in their 40s and 50s.

Women are more affected by alcohol because their bodies have less water and cannot break down alcohol as well as men. Female hormones also make women more sensitive to alcohol. Some women can get liver disease after drinking only small amounts for a short time.

As more women work, they may drink more, sometimes trying to keep up with men. Muramatsu says, "It's important to raise awareness among women to avoid drinking at levels that pose high health risks."

(Japanese original by Yuko Shimada, Business News Department)

Vocabulary:

alcohol: drinks like beer, wine, or sake that can make you drunk

hormone: a chemical in the body that controls how you grow and feel

awareness: knowing or understanding something

risk: the chance of something bad happening