| | Study: Alcohol more lethal than heroin, cocaine | |
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KK
Location : New York Super Powers : poastwhore Number of posts : 8316 pennies : 7853 Rep : 354
| Subject: Study: Alcohol more lethal than heroin, cocaine Mon Nov 01, 2010 10:41 am | |
| Study: Alcohol more lethal than heroin, cocaine LONDON – Alcohol is more dangerous than illegal drugs like heroin and crack cocaine, according to a new study.
British experts evaluated substances including alcohol, cocaine, heroin, ecstasy and marijuana, ranking them based on how destructive they are to the individual who takes them and to society as a whole.
Researchers analyzed how addictive a drug is and how it harms the human body, in addition to other criteria like environmental damage caused by the drug, its role in breaking up families and its economic costs, such as health care, social services, and prison.
Heroin, crack cocaine and methamphetamine, or crystal meth, were the most lethal to individuals. When considering their wider social effects, alcohol, heroin and crack cocaine were the deadliest. But overall, alcohol outranked all other substances, followed by heroin and crack cocaine. Marijuana, ecstasy and LSD scored far lower.
The study was paid for by Britain's Centre for Crime and Justice Studies and was published online Monday in the medical journal, Lancet.
Experts said alcohol scored so high because it is so widely used and has devastating consequences not only for drinkers but for those around them.
"Just think about what happens (with alcohol) at every football game," said Wim van den Brink, a professor of psychiatry and addiction at the University of Amsterdam. He was not linked to the study and co-authored a commentary in the Lancet.
When drunk in excess, alcohol damages nearly all organ systems. It is also connected to higher death rates and is involved in a greater percentage of crime than most other drugs, including heroin.
But experts said it would be impractical and incorrect to outlaw alcohol.
"We cannot return to the days of prohibition," said Leslie King, an adviser to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and one of the study's authors. "Alcohol is too embedded in our culture and it won't go away."
King said countries should target problem drinkers, not the vast majority of people who indulge in a drink or two. He said governments should consider more education programs and raising the price of alcohol so it isn't as widely available.
Experts said the study should prompt countries to reconsider how they classify drugs. For example, last year in Britain, the government increased its penalties for the possession of marijuana. One of its senior advisers, David Nutt - the lead author on the Lancet study - was fired after he criticized the British decision.
"What governments decide is illegal is not always based on science," said van den Brink. He said considerations about revenue and taxation, like those garnered from the alcohol and tobacco industries, may influence decisions about which substances to regulate or outlaw.
"Drugs that are legal cause at least as much damage, if not more, than drugs that are illicit," he said.
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| | | c/thru
Blurts : What is this decade called ? Location : almost Mile High Hobbies : Freedom Tracker Humor : floating under a delicate layer of apathy Super Powers : can turn water into ice Number of posts : 3049 pennies : 3303 Rep : 123
| Subject: Re: Study: Alcohol more lethal than heroin, cocaine Tue Nov 02, 2010 10:47 pm | |
| That's because so many people self-medicate with alcohol and there is barely a social stigma left around it
drinking and driving is so mainstream ...it makes me so angry how acceptable it is
alcohol is present at almost any social event you attend...how they think people are getting to & fro ? | |
| | | KK
Location : New York Super Powers : poastwhore Number of posts : 8316 pennies : 7853 Rep : 354
| Subject: Re: Study: Alcohol more lethal than heroin, cocaine Wed Nov 03, 2010 8:04 pm | |
| - c/thru wrote:
- That's because so many people self-medicate with alcohol and there is barely a social stigma left around it
drinking and driving is so mainstream ...it makes me so angry how acceptable it is
alcohol is present at almost any social event you attend...how they think people are getting to & fro ? designated drivers | |
| | | fleamailman
Number of posts : 570 pennies : 614 Rep : 39
| Subject: Re: Study: Alcohol more lethal than heroin, cocaine Thu Nov 04, 2010 12:35 pm | |
| ("...interesting read..." went the goblin without comment but still thinking on it) | |
| | | Madison
Location : @ work 2 much Hobbies : reconciling c/thru Humor : sexist Super Powers : faux feminism reparations Number of posts : 621 pennies : 299 Rep : 20
| Subject: Re: Study: Alcohol more lethal than heroin, cocaine Thu Nov 04, 2010 1:33 pm | |
| - KK wrote:
- c/thru wrote:
- That's because so many people self-medicate with alcohol and there is barely a social stigma left around it
drinking and driving is so mainstream ...it makes me so angry how acceptable it is
alcohol is present at almost any social event you attend...how they think people are getting to & fro ? designated drivers designated drivers ...how they think people are gonna buy their crap ? I just love the way some alchy companies are trying to appear all socially conscious by promoting the DD concept within their ads .... who the hell wants to babysit ? | |
| | | KK
Location : New York Super Powers : poastwhore Number of posts : 8316 pennies : 7853 Rep : 354
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