The report said equality could be "a false goal"

The comments from Dr Mac Armstrong came in his annual report on the state of the nation's health.

The report showed that 26.1% of women continued to smoke during pregnancy.

It also showed that one in four women binge drink, while 15% exceeded the weekly alcohol limit of 14 units in 1998, a rise of 2% from 1995.

Dr Armstrong said: "They need to feel less hopeless. They need to feel they have got a stake in the future.

What we see here is women catching up with the bad habits of men Dr Mac Armstrong

"They need to feel they have a reason to be alive and create a future for themselves and their children."

The report also noted a "positive association" between excessive alcohol intake and breast cancer and warned that drinking could be responsible for about 500 cases a year.

Dr Armstrong said: "In a sense it is an equality thing and women have been targeted as a market by the drinks industry and the tobacco industry world-wide for several decades on the basis that they ought to have it if men can have it.

"In a sense what we see here is women catching up with the bad habits of men.

"I don't think they have made a good choice in the sense that they are running against their physiology."

'False goal'

He said women were less able to handle alcohol than men, which explained why the weekly alcohol intake limits were lower for women.

"Equality is a very false goal for women to aspire to in this particular set of regards," he said.

Despite his focus on women, Dr Armstrong stressed that men were "not off the hook" and still suffered from the traditional problems associated with poor diet, little exercise, smoking and excessive drinking.

Despite the general warning tone of the report, Dr Armstrong insisted there were "points for optimism" including executive policies, improved working between agencies and healthier eating among young people.

The report also raised concern over "serious" dental problems caused by fizzy drinks and called for them to be banned in schools.