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. Read full story in APP.
However Alcohol, in moderation especialy dry red wine is good for the heart reduces bad cholesterol, & bring up the good one. An average person should consume 5.5 ounces of red dry winw per day. Even the rambams speaks about wine, & says if you drink water you shouldn’t drink it plain you should add wine.
Many psukim speak about wine.However one must drink like the wise people.
y on such a website wud u write about all these different types of drugs like ur a mumcha in drugs. younger people go on this site and i dont think its proper that they shud read all this garbage. please post this mess and dont ignore it just because ur afraid it may make u look bad .
young people have to be educated about what is out there and how to say no. unfortunately even in our community there is plenty of all of the above making the rounds and our children are naive and don’t know the dangers. it looks like fun but they don’t know how quickly they can fall in. yes, lets teach our very young children to be aware, to be in the know and to be educated so they can say no with confidence and pride.
To #2. I know what you’re feeling. However, we live in different times now. I am a 39 year old Yungerman/ Ba’al habuss. I learned in A prominent brooklyn yeshiva, then Mir, Brisk, BMG. I gave shiurim and chaburos, and I am still very involved in chinuch and other toiradike venues. Yet somehow, from enjoying a shabbos afternoon l’chaim to drinking at shimchos, I somehow found myself drinking like a horse over the past decade. I jeopardized my sholem bayiss, and worst of all, I have damaged my own body in ways I rather not disclose. Drinking in moderation is probably ok l’chol hadayoss. But beware of our youth, (my own children included), who are getting very comfortable with drinking at every opportunity. And I dont mean just Purim. Consider sholem zochor, kiddush, and every other event, where alcohol is readily available. I wish I could have done things differently.
So, to sum it up….we are not necessarily above this.
Thank you so for posting something like this. Unfortunaly there are many young boys and men who dont realize how drinking can be addictive and harmful. There are plenty of boys in yeshiva who drink all friday and come to shul drunk friday night and then drink again on shabbas! People have to realize how dinking just a lchaim can lead to another and another. We must stop the drinking!