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Alcohol, tobacco more dangerous than illegal drugs

Alcohol and tobacco are more dangerous than illegal drugs like marijuana or Ecstasy, according to a new British study.

  • AP
  • Published: 00:00 March 24, 2007
  • Gulf News

London: Alcohol and tobacco are more dangerous than illegal drugs like marijuana or Ecstasy, according to a new British study.

In research published yesterday in The Lancet magazine, Professor David Nutt of Bristol University and colleagues proposed a new framework for the classification of harmful substances, based on the actual risks posed to society. Their ranking listed alcohol and tobacco among the top 10 most dangerous substances.

Nutt and colleagues used three factors to determine the harm associated with any drug: the physical harm to the user, the drug's potential for addiction, and the impact on society.

Methodology

The researchers asked two groups of experts - psychiatrists specialising in addiction and legal or police officials with scientific or medical expertise - to assign scores to 20 different drugs, including heroin, cocaine, Ecstasy, amphet-amines, and LSD.

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 were ranked most dangerous, followed by barbiturates and street methadone. Alcohol was the fifth-most harmful drug and tobacco the ninth most harmful.

According to existing drug policy, alcohol and tobacco are legal, while cannabis and Ecstasy are illegal. Previous reports, including a study from a parliamentary committee, have questioned the rationale for the classification system.

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