According to a new British study, alcohol and tobacco are more dangerous than some illegal drugs.
Professor David Nutt of Britain’s Bristol University and colleagues proposed a new framework for the classification of harmful substances, based on the actual risks to society. Among the top 10 most dangerous substances are alcohol and tobacco.
Nutt and his colleagues used three factors to determine the harm associated with any drug: the physical harm to the user, the potential of drug addiction, and the impact on society. Nutt and his colleagues then calculated the drugs’ overall rankings. In the end, the experts agreed with each other — but not with the existing British classification of dangerous substances.
Heroin and cocaine appeared to be the most dangerous, followed by barbiturates and street methadone. Alcohol was the fifth-most harmful drug and tobacco the ninth most harmful. Cannabis came in 11th, and near the bottom of the list was Ecstasy.
According to existing British and U.S. law alcohol and tobacco are legal, when cannabis and Ecstasy are both illegal.
Tobacco causes 40 percent of all illnesses, while alcohol is blamed for more than half of all visits to doctors. The substances also harm society in other ways, damaging families and occupying police services.
Nutt hopes that the research will cause debate within the community about how drugs — including socially acceptable drugs such as alcohol — should be regulated.
While experts agreed that wide use of alcohol and tobacco would be challenging, they said that governments should review the penalties imposed for drug.