ABSTRACT
Long before research studies dealing specifically with women's substance abuse issues were set up, some of the most closely observed descriptions of addiction problems for women could be found in literature, mostly in fiction, but also often described in biographies and autobiographies. Cult heroine Marilyn Monroe is but one such example of a woman overtaken by addiction problems. Also, life stories continue to pepper the national dailies and are to be found in abundance in women's magazines. In recent years there has been an increasing awareness and acknowledgement that substance abuse issues for women are a serious topic in their own right These have to be set within the context of the overall concept that society affects women's lives at every level, and more importantly that this differs from the impact it has on men.
