Alcohol more harmful than Heroin

**shaunbhoy** · 1 November 2010, 12:04

Originally posted by kandr View Post

BBC News - Alcohol 'more harmful than heroin' says Prof David Nutt

Thoughts?

I don't need some Nutt advising me about the dangers of alcohol.

**RichardCranium** · 1 November 2010, 12:08

<sigh>

This has been bandied around for decades.

Choose your metrics and get the results you want.

If you ban everything that has a cost, there'll be nothing left.

**kandr** · 1 November 2010, 12:11

Originally posted by RichardCranium View Post

<sigh>

This has been bandied around for decades.

Choose your metrics and get the results you want.

If you ban everything that has a cost, there'll be nothing left.

I agree, I don't think his findings make sense, alcohol is widely available and cheap, and socially acceptable, so its much easier to abuse.

**d000hg** · 1 November 2010, 12:11

I bet a pint of heroin is more harmful than a pint of lager.

**BlasterBates** · 1 November 2010, 12:13

That's why heroine (Diamorphine) is used in hospitals as a painkiller, rather than alcohol. Has very little harmful effects other than constipation and obviously being drowsy and generally you can't give a sh*t about anything. In fact when it's used for pain relief the patients don't even get addicted, there's no "cold turkey" when they come off it.

**CheeseSlice** · 1 November 2010, 12:18

The key factor this study points out is that it is "more harmful to others" than heroin.
The harm to the user is not particularly high.

I question the metrics used. How do they quantify equivalent doses, usage frequency, population coverage, and addictiveness to make this a fair study?

I think this is yet another scare story of the sort that the media loves, and always fail to highlight key metrics in the headlines. The average newspaper reader will think "Oh, 'any' amount of alcohol is worse than heroin"

Another crap news story IMO.

Alcohol has been consumed for thousands of years, sensible consumption and pubs are integral to our society, and there is nothing new or scary about it.

Nothing to see here, carry on.

**BlasterBates** · 1 November 2010, 12:33

Well it depends on how you spin the article. Heroin is "dangerous" only because it's very addictive and you can overdose on it much easier than Alcohol, but it has no long term effects like Alcohol does, it doesn't ruin your liver. If you're a famous pop star and you want to be high on drugs all the time then your best bet is heroin because when you come off it after 20 years it won't have done you any harm, eg Keith Richards.

The other way to spin the article is to say heroin isn't as dangerous as you think. It's only dangerous in that you inject tulip with dirty needles, if it was available in a chemist in a bottle and you took a couple of teaspoonfuls a day, probably wouldn't be any worse than alcohol. The problem is though it is addictive and then you overdose.

**kandr** · 1 November 2010, 12:37

Originally posted by BlasterBates View Post

Well it depends on how you spin the article. Heroin is "dangerous" only because it's very addictive and you can overdose on it much easier than Alcohol, but it has no long term effects like Alcohol does, it doesn't ruin your liver. If you're a famous pop star and you want to be high on drugs all the time then your best bet is heroin because when you come off it after 20 years it won't have done you any harm, eg Keith Richards.

The other way to spin the article is to say heroin isn't as dangerous as you think. It's only dangerous in that you inject tulip with dirty needles, if it was available in a chemist in a bottle and you took a couple of teaspoonfulls a day, probably wouldn't be any worse than alcohol. The problem is though it is addictive and then you overdose.

I agree, but I wouldn't say Keith Richards hasn't been harmed.

**TestMangler** · 1 November 2010, 12:51

I've always found heroin to be a bit like fererro rocher.......it's just so moreish

Alcohol more harmful than Heroin