Alcohol - more harmful to society than drugs.

Alcohol - more harmful to society than drugs.

As we all enjoy these lazy days in the sun with a lovely cool beer or glass or two of wine I was reminded recently of an interesting piece appeared some time ago in the Daily Mail.  In it Katherine Faulkner reported that scientists have found that alcohol is the most harmful drug overall and three times as harmful as cocaine and tobacco - according to a new scale of drug harm that rates the damage to both users and to wider society. The study says that if drugs were classified on the basis of the harm they do, alcohol would be class A, alongside heroin and crack cocaine.  Overall, alcohol scored 72 out of a maximum ‘harm’ score of 100, compared to 55 for heroin and 54 for crack.

And while the most dangerous drugs to individual users were judged to be heroin, crack and then crystal meth, alcohol was deemed most harmful to society, followed by heroin and then crack.

And we have all known someone whose life has been wrecked by alcohol. Not to mention the dink-fuelled problems on the street and the death toll on our roads caused by drink drivers. 

If you wanted to take crack cocaine you certainly could not stroll down the street and enjoy it in public with friends, as you could a drink in a bar.  So what is wrong with alcohol?  What does overuse of alcohol do to our bodies? 

Well there are chronic diseases such as liver cirrhosis (damage to liver cells); pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas); various cancers, including liver, mouth, throat, larynx, and oesophagus; high blood pressure; and psychological disorders. Then there is the incidence of unintentional injuries, such as motor-vehicle traffic crashes, falls, drowning, burns and firearm injuries.  Alcohol can lead to violence, such as child abuse, homicide, and suicide.  Alcohol is well known to harm to a developing foetus if a woman drinks while pregnant, with well-recorded foetal alcohol spectrum disorders. 

Alcohol abuse or dependence leads people to live lives that are dominated by drink and they will invariably end up lying even to the people who are closest to them.  They lose their jobs and they lose their perspective on life and due to the effect of alcohol on the skin and on many aspects of their health, they age very rapidly.

The effects on the family and on the lives of alcoholics cannot be understated.  It can and does cause broken marriages, lost jobs and ruined lives. 

With alcohol all around all of us every day, what makes some of us drink too much and others manage to keep their drinking within normal limits?   There is a lot of debate around whether we can have a natural disposition to do things to excess, (an addictive personality) or whether the environment we are brought up in or find ourselves living in is to blame. It is the old nature versus nurture debate.

Whatever the reason that a person starts to drink, if he or she cannot stop, or finds that drinking has taken over their life, then one thing we are aware of is that it is going to be a life long struggle.   I heard one alcoholic speaking recently on the radio about his addiction.  When he was asked if, since he had stopped drinking some 2 years before, he was now not an alcoholic, he replied that he would always be an alcoholic.  He said that he was aware that relapse could happen at any time and he was ready to meet that head on if it happened.  This is undoubtedly the best way to go.  As with so many addictions thinking that because you have stopped for a while means the battle is over and the war is won may be unwise.  Keeping your guard up, being vigilant and getting support gives by far the best chance of success in beating any addiction. 

Moderate use of anything is not a problem but where alcohol is concerned, if you are in that small group who cannot keep drinking to a moderate or sensible limit, then it is probably best not to drink at all.

The days of treating alcohol as a sort of grown up treat are over, I am afraid, like heroin and cocaine, alcohol is a drug and as such it needs to be treated with respect. 

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Amanda Thomas

UK Health Radio