Women are now drinking as much as men according to a study of college students.

Research at UCC shows 65 percent of men and 67 percent of women drink to hazardous levels.

The results of the study published in the British Medical Journal indicates 17 per cent of men and 5 percent of women drink more than 3 pints at least four times a week - well above the recommended intake.

The results have prompted a call for national intervention to tackle student drinking. UCC Researcher Martin Davoren says the minimum pricing of alcohol being brought in by the Government could go some way towards preventing binge drinking

He says he was taken aback by the study: