Long-term health effects and immediate consequences of smoking and alcohol abuse cost society billions of dollars in treatment plans, health care and detoxing facilities. In addition, the costs to families and innocent bystanders who are injured as a result of these legal recreational drugs may outweigh the temporary enjoyment experienced by the user. Due to their legal status, alcohol and cigarettes are widely available, but they have significant costs.
The Results Are In ...
When you look at the numbers, it seems clear that even though smoking is becoming more and more of a social blunder due to heavy campaigning and social shunning, alcohol costs society substantially more than smoking. The attractive ad campaigns, social acceptability and the blind eye turned toward social drinking mimics the cultural climate of the 1950s, when smoking was considered a normal and enjoyable activity, even though drinking costs more lives and is a heavy burden on the American economy.
Health Risks
While advocates of moderate drinking tout positive health effects for blood pressure and cardiac health, statistics indicate that one in 13 Americans abuses alcohol on a regular basis or suffers from alcoholism. Heavy drinking may increase the risk for certain cancers and may cause high blood pressure, cirrhosis of the liver, brain damage, mental health issues, heart disease and fetal alcohol syndrome. No one argues that smoking is healthy anymore, though the well-known health risks still don't convince many smokers to quit, thanks to the powerfully addictive qualities of tobacco.
Costs of Drinking
Drinking exponentially increases the occurrence of injuries and death due to public disorder, suicide, drunk driving, interpersonal abuse, accidents and homicide. In addition, drinking increases job absenteeism and decreases productivity and work quality. According to the National Academy of Sciences, underage drinking accounts for about $53 billion in societal costs each year, while adult drinking costs the nation about $175 billion each year with an additional cost of 100,000 deaths per year.
Costs of Smoking
According to substance abuse expert Dr. Robert Hampton, smokers die about 10 years earlier than people who choose not to smoke. Premature deaths reduce costs for Social Security and Medicare, but direct health costs and lost productivity from smoking cost society more than $137 billion each year.
Solutions
Smoking has now become more socially unacceptable than ever before due to an effective string of ad campaigns, bans in public areas and heavy taxes. Universities all over the nation are declaring themselves "smoke free," while providing students and staff counseling and kits to help stop the smoking habit. With the numbers proving that alcohol is actually a much more serious health concern as well as a much more significant burden to society due to accidents, health problems, brain damage, violence and loss of work, it is shocking that campaigns against alcohol abuse are not funded with the aggressive stance that has been responsible for reducing the appeal of smoking. According to authors and clinical psychologists John and Rita Sommers-Flanagan, if only half of the budget applied to promoting the cessation of smoking was applied to promoting the cessation of drinking, the economic and social burden caused by alcohol could be reduced by 50 percent, saving the American people billions of dollars while saving lives, reducing abuse and preventing unnecessary accidents.
References
- "The American Holistic Medical Association Guide to Holistic Health: Healing Therapies for Optimal Wellness";Larry Trivieri Jr.; 2001
- The Marin Institute: Economic Costs of Underage Drinking
- The Marin Institute: The Health Care Costs of Alcohol
- "Counseling and Psychology Theories in Context and Practice"; John Sommers-Flanagan and Rita Sommers-Flanagan; 2009
- "Substance Abuse, Family Violence and Child Welfare: Bridging Perspectives (Issues in Children's and Families' Lives)"; Dr Robert L. Hampton; 2001
- "Natural Mental Health"; Carla Wills-Brandon; 2007
