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2010-11-01 11:14:08
By MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer Maria Cheng, Ap Medical Writer Sun Oct 31,
8:08 pm ET
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.