• Question: What do you think is worse, drinking a lot of alcohol or smoking a lot?

    Asked by anon-256862 to Hugo on 24 Jun 2020.
    • Photo: Hugo Lewkowicz

      Hugo Lewkowicz answered on 24 Jun 2020:

      That’s a really interesting and difficult question!

      I honestly think they may not be comparable. Both are certainly bad for you, but, perhaps worse, both are very difficult to stop once you’ve started. I personally don’t smoke and therefore find it difficult to imagine why it’s so addictive. However, I’ve seen nurses and doctors who look after people who are very unwell from smoking day in and day out, who then still smoke. The fact that these carers aren’t put off smoking by seeing first hand the suffering it can cause speaks to just how addictive it is!

      I suspect, though, that there is an argument that alcohol may be worse simply due to the lifestyle effects it has on people. Both cause long term organ damage, smoking effecting the lungs and alcohol effecting the liver (among other things), but alcohol also causes brain damage and effects short term decision making that, when drunk all the time, can alienate people and cause real social distress.

      Like I said, that’s a really hard question, and I’m afraid I don’t have a definitive answer for you!

Comments

  • Photo: Rachel

    Rachel commented on :

    Alcohol and smoking are probably the two biggest threats to health in existence! Out of every 100,000 people, 111 die from smoking-related causes, and 33 from alcohol-related causes. So if you look purely at deaths, one might argue that smoking is worse. But Hugo is right that alcohol probably affects people more while they are alive and affects their concentration, judgement, mood and memory, which can affect their ability to work and have healthy relationships with people. I think younger generations are much more aware of the dangers of smoking and alcohol than I was when I was (or my parents’ generation were) at school!