The Most Dangerous Drug: Alcohol

When we talk about addiction, it’s often drugs like heroin and crack that get the worst rap – and they are dangerous – but a new study shows that alcohol may be the most dangerous drug of all. 

A new report by The Lancet, a British medical journal, lists alcohol as the most harmful among a list of 20 dangerous drugs. Alcohol topped even crack and heroin based on its potential harm.

Experts from the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs weighed the physical, psychological and social problems caused by the drugs and determined that alcohol was the most harmful overall, CNN.com reported.  

Alcohol Three Times More Harmful Than Other Drugs

The study used a new scale to evaluate harms to individual users and others, using 16 different criteria to rate addictive substances on a scale of 1 to 100. Under that rating system, alcohol scored 72. Based on this new rating, alcohol is almost three times as harmful as cocaine or tobacco, according to the new study. Heroin, crack cocaine and methamphetamine were seen as the most harmful drugs to the individuals using them, the study concluded, while alcohol, heroin and crack cocaine were the most harmful to others. 

As a result of their findings, study panelists confirmed other studies that insist "aggressively targeting alcohol harms is a valid and necessary public health strategy." 

The Lancet article was co-authored by David Nutt, a professor and Britain's former chief drug adviser, who caused controversy last year after he published an article saying ecstasy was not as dangerous as riding a horse. The study was funded by the London-based Centre for Crime and Justice studies.  

Alcohol Addiction Treatment

If you or someone you love is battling an alcohol addiction, call La Paloma at our toll-free number. Someone is there to take your call 24 hours a day and answer any questions you have about treatment, financing or insurance.