We all know for a fact that illegal drugs is dangerous. Such substance can put our lives in danger and even those around us. Drugs can affect a person psychological, mentally, even physically. Actually, all aspects in a person’s life get affected because of drugs and it is considered as a major problem not only in the United States, but almost in all countries. But what is more interesting is that, a study found that alcohol and tobacco can actually be more harmful than drugs.
A report has been released suggesting that tobacco and alcohol are considered to the the most harmful substance that people utilize around the world. But if we come to think of it, none among the three is better than the other because all of them can bring harm and danger to people. This is why a drug addiction blog like this exists- to help people stay from these three or, if they are already addicted, we hope to help them change and get back on their feet with our recovery centers.
The Society for the Study of Addiction recently released a report that suggests tobacco and alcohol is the “most harmful substance” utilized by people around the world. The report compiles data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Institute for Health metrics and Evaluation and World Health Organization.
While the data is fairly limited, the organization’s report provides a clear image of the burden and mortality of diseases associated with illicit drugs, tobacco and alcohol.
As more and more states legalize medical and recreational marijuana, its popularity continues to soar. The data revealed that only 259 people out of 100,000 were dependent on cannabis.
Deaths Related To Tobacco And Alcohol
According to the Society for the Study of Addition, more deaths are related to alcohol and tobacco than illegal drugs, such as cocaine and methamphetamine, and cannabis. This basically means that more lives are lost to tobacco and alcohol use than their illicit counterparts.
Researchers utilized what is known as “disability-adjusted life years” (DALYs) to study the overall harm caused by illicit drugs, cannabis, alcohol and tobacco. This method measures the number of years people with cancers and heart and respiratory diseases survive. Overdose deaths are also included in this measurement.
Researchers combined overdose deaths from illicit drug use and DALYs to measure the level of harm caused by illegal substances, tobacco and alcohol. The results revealed that the harm caused by tobacco and alcohol was much more severe than the harm caused by illicit drug use.
Focusing solely on the substance-attributable mortality rates, tobacco use contributed to 110.7 deaths per 100,000 people, alcohol contributed to 33.0 deaths out of 100,000 people. So, tobacco us is contributed to more than three times more deaths than alcohol.
Now, when you look at the substance-attributable mortality rates for illicit drugs, the numbers are much lower. According to the SSA report, illegal drug use contributed to 6.9 deaths per 100,000 people.
If you believe the substance-attributable mortality rates are disturbing wait until you see the DALYs results. Tobacco and alcohol contributed to a loss of 250,000,000 disability-adjusted life years – alcohol 85.0 million years and tobacco 170.9 million – worldwide. Illegal substance use did not even come close to that number. However, it still contributed to a loss of tens of millions DALYs…
Source
https://weedinmypocket.com/new-study-suggests-alcohol-and-tobacco-are-more-harmful-than-illegal-drugs/