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Stemming the Rise in Global Alcohol-Related Deaths

time.com — The last global statistical analysis of the damage caused by alcohol, undertaken in 2000, found that 3.2% of deaths worldwide were the result of alcohol consumption.

Who dugg this? Made popular Jun 29, 2009

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  • reuscel, on 06/29/2009, -9/+54And yet marijuana remains illegal.
  • borez, on 06/29/2009, -2/+29So what, your body is your own body, we all die eventually and if you're the kind of person who likes to take a drink then so be it. And quite frankly, unless your hurting those around you, it's nobodies business but your own.
  • klevrmann, on 06/29/2009, -5/+21You, sir, are an idiot.
  • yoderizer, on 06/29/2009, -1/+15Suicide, oral / throat / breast / colon cancer, violence, stroke - all are "alcohol related". How do they determine whether a woman got breast cancer because of alcohol vs. any other cause? As someone who nearly ruined his life with alcohol, I'll testify it can do bad things. This just seems like classic Lancet nanny-state garbage to me.
  • Aelbric, on 06/29/2009, -2/+12Prohibition of substances or activities for personal use in any form is pure stupidity. Smoking, drinking, prostitution, gambling, drug use* all should be decriminalized completely. What a person does to themselves should be no one else s concern.

    *The crime shouldn't be using these substances. If someone commits a crime when under the influence, the crime should be punished not the crime due to the substance.
  • psylemon, on 06/29/2009, -2/+12It's completely relevant
  • 64bitllama, on 06/29/2009, -3/+13At what point does marijuana usage reach a magical threshold where people start killing themselves? Even in proportion to usage rates, alcohol-related deaths vastly outweight marijuana-related ones. Almost all "marijuana-related" deaths recorded have alcohol or some other drug as a cofactor. In contrast, there are hundreds of thousands of reports of alcohol-related deaths where alcohol was the *only* drug consumed.

    You fail at statistics.
  • 64bitllama, on 06/29/2009, -0/+9Yes, so long as people are not risking the lives of others by doing so. I support people drinking themselves to death so long as they don't drive and aren't violent/aggressive towards others.
  • Whorebane, on 06/29/2009, -3/+12The problem is if you're drinking enough to be killed by alcohol consumption, you're probably affecting those around you.
  • punchintheface, on 06/29/2009, -2/+11Sounds like more prohibitionists trying to prove how MADD they are
  • cheddaro, on 06/29/2009, -0/+8This is the same "science" that the anti-cigarette crowd uses to determine that cigarettes kill 10 billion people a year.

    If you ever smoked a single cigarette, and then end up with some kind of respiratory or heart disease, that disease is attributed to the fact that at one time you may have smoked.

    We all know that alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes are bad for you. I don't know why they insist on just outright lying to make it seem worse than it is.
  • inactive, on 06/29/2009, -1/+9When they come for your booze, just remember...

    ... we smokers told you so.
  • BoneStamp, on 06/29/2009, -2/+10Abuse anything and it can kill you or cause other problems that kill you, even water. BAN WATER!!!
  • Bandersong, on 06/29/2009, -0/+7My parents have let me drink since I was 12.

    Now I'm 19 and I've never drunk to excess, even though I do have a daily beer or wine glass.

    I think they succeeded in educating me.
  • dystra, on 06/29/2009, -2/+9I blame cigarettes.
  • psylemon, on 06/29/2009, -0/+6If we changed the drinking age to 18 then parents would at least have a chance of showing their kids how alcohol effects the kids in a safe environment. Now kids are sneaking around with bottles and getting smashed with their friends at unsupervised house parties or in the woods with friends. In college the drinking laws are a joke anyway, so why don't people realize it and change the laws. This article is obviously in direct relation to improper education about alcohol.
  • FLUX, on 06/29/2009, -1/+7NEXT they will want to tax it even more because of this, just like cigarettes.

    follow the money when your deal with politicians that is all they are interested in ( finding new ways to take your hard earned money for their uses)
  • kingofthisnight, on 06/29/2009, -3/+9You can drink yourself to death but you can't smoke yourself to death.
  • Frostek, on 06/29/2009, -1/+6You'll probably die from allergies in that case.
  • ImperialSoren, on 06/29/2009, -3/+8it's people like you....
  • Larke2000, on 06/29/2009, -0/+5exactly. alcohol leads to far worse behavior and consequences than marijuana ever has and ever will.
  • soderl, on 06/29/2009, -2/+7PROHIBITION! bring it back
  • archimago42, on 06/29/2009, -2/+7@schnik: If your comment starts with "Who is trolling?" and then generalizes that everyone that does such and such is a "jackass" in the next sentence, the answer to your question is always "you".
  • psylemon, on 06/29/2009, -1/+6If people had the option between drinking alcohol or legally smoking marijuana then at least some of those people would smoke pot. this would reduce the number of people drinking and effect the statistics.

    There are a ton of people who are afraid to smoke marijuana simply because it is illegal. If it was legal and got the same rap as cigarettes, which I bet it would if it was legal, then many more people would try it and at least a few would say "hey, this is way better than drinking!"
  • ThatsNotPoetry, on 06/29/2009, -1/+6Scary statistics. Human beings really are a sad lot. Poor decision making up the wazoo.
  • DirtyVicar, on 06/29/2009, -1/+6Don't feed the troll, guys.
  • duncan202, on 06/29/2009, -0/+4Should not be assumed though.
  • itsbob, on 06/29/2009, -0/+4Give people a legal choice for a buzz and I bet most would use the safer products
  • inactive, on 06/29/2009, -0/+4Second hand smoke is a myth: http://psyed.org/r/crit/crd/second_smoke.html

    And nobody is forcing you to go to establishments that allow smoking. You have every right not to allow smoking in your own home and car, but in mine? Tough *****.

    I'm sure you support banning all deodorants, perfumes, colognes, and foods that have pungent odors and smell like *****, right?

    And got five bucks says that says that on any long weekend, you could be found within a ten foot radius of a barbecue grill that's hemorrhaging smoke, without a complaint.

    Tell you what, I'll suck on a cancer stick while you suck on my dick. Oh, and you may not want to use any product in your hair, I'll be using the top of your head as an ashtray.
  • MWeather, on 06/29/2009, -1/+5"Changing the laws about marijuana wouldn't change these alcohol related statistics in the slightest."

    While some people would take the legalisation of marijuana as an excuse to get drunk AND stoned, most will do either/or thus lowering the amount of alcohol related deaths.
  • BaphClass, on 06/29/2009, -3/+7It's impossible to overdose on marijuana, and I never want to do stupid things like jump off of things, or stand on moving cars while high. All I do when I smoke weed is take forever to cook food, eat 2 bags of chips, and suck at videogames, all the while descending into a fit of paranoid thoughts. It also makes my throat sore, and gunks up my vocal chords.

    Seriously, look for the guy who feels humiliated whenever he talks about anything because he sounds like he's going through puberty again, is eating a heap of food, and constantly performs checks in both body and personality, because he feels like a freak whenever he's stoned.

    I'll say it: I like alcohol more than weed, but I'll never pass up an opportunity to smoke some, as long as I can be alone after.
  • MWeather, on 06/29/2009, -0/+4When my smoking impairs my driving, I'll agree it's more annoying than smoking.

    Until then, go drive drunk, you lowlife alcoholic.

  • archimago42, on 06/29/2009, -0/+3Your pun makes me SADD.
  • weaksnyc, on 08/14/2009, -0/+3Well, a big reason is because most non-smokers don't like cigarette smoke in public places, and a small portion of smokers consistently make all smokers look bad by ignoring this fact to a point where non-smokers revolted. Once there is a coalition out to get you, hard facts become much less relevant than "winning the battle."

    If you want cities to ban smoking, you need to show some stats that prove there's good reason for it... true or not, there's an agenda handpicking the studies being presented.

  • MWeather, on 06/29/2009, -0/+3Of the wrong drug....

    consequences of weed include:

    bloodshot eyes
    giggling
    the "munchies"
    being broke
  • buddyw, on 06/29/2009, -0/+3My decisions (good or bad) frequently affect those around me. What's your point?
  • nepidae, on 06/29/2009, -0/+2If you weren't able to stop her then there is absolutely nothing the government could do to stop her. How about we take away your car because people have died?
  • socokoolaid, on 06/29/2009, -0/+2Glue is probably safer than alcohol in the long run.
  • itsbob, on 06/29/2009, -0/+2Time for growers to unionize!
  • zebraz, on 06/29/2009, -0/+2Unfortunately.....
    If they catch you with the weed you are going to get all kinds of *****.
    At least alcohol is legal.
    Just don't drive.
  • omgwtflawl, on 06/29/2009, -0/+2http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi3erdgVVTw
  • shrudheuie, on 06/29/2009, -2/+4Hey, at least they aren't smoking weed. Just because it can't kill you doesn't mean its not EVIL.... MUAHAHAAH
  • emotecontrol, on 06/29/2009, -2/+4Oblivious troll is oblivious
  • frieddonuts, on 06/29/2009, -0/+2No one's talking about banning it. I love beer and would start learning to brew my own, should it be banned. We just need to realize that this is a public health crisis that costs society billions of dollars a year in healthcare costs and lost productivity. People need to see alcohol as a drug that must be used responsibly.

    EDIT: Really should carefully read the article before commenting. ***** them if they want to create cost controls for booze. I agree with promoting responsibility but they have no right to institute moral controls for my personal habits.
  • catchneyez, on 06/29/2009, -1/+3In other news, new studies were conducted that show 100% of people will die sometime in their lifetime, and of this percentage of people most will drink alcohol in their lifetime. This leads to the conclusion that alcohol is likely a key factor in the cause of death. Also linked to the high percentage of people who will die was masturbation; further studies are underway to show the percentage of masturbators who also drink alcohol and how this relates to death.
  • acknotSW, on 06/29/2009, -0/+2As long as FOP's remain a strong voting block in the US, we will never get rid any of these "sin" laws. Face it, they vote and go to church, pissing them off by letting prostitutes make a better and safer living would cost a politician his office.
  • MWeather, on 06/29/2009, -2/+4"And once a vast majority of the population has access to it, they won't get high and end up killing themselves?"

    The vast majority of the population already has access to it. The vast majority has also tried it and suffered no ill effects.
  • nepidae, on 06/29/2009, -0/+1Yes, the only thing that is important is to live as long as possible. To that effect we should all be in sealed rooms with nutrients given through an IV.
  • socokoolaid, on 06/29/2009, -0/+1Sometimes 'up the wazoo' is the bad decision.
  • socokoolaid, on 06/29/2009, -0/+1I still think him dying is some kinda big internet joke
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