Both smoking and drinking are harmful, but smoking causes significantly more deaths. While there are many factors involved, the sheer number of deaths attributable to smoking far surpasses those caused by alcohol consumption.
The Toll of Tobacco and Alcohol
The provided data clearly shows a stark difference in mortality rates:
- Smoking: In 2013, tobacco was responsible for 480,000 deaths in the United States.
- Drinking: In the same year, alcohol resulted in 29,001 deaths.
This disparity highlights the considerably greater health risk associated with smoking compared to drinking. While alcohol abuse can lead to significant health problems and death, the scale of mortality from tobacco use is dramatically higher. Other substances, like heroin, prescription drugs, and cocaine, contributed to fewer deaths (4,202) in the same year according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Conclusion
The data shows a clear trend; smoking carries a substantially greater risk of death than alcohol consumption.
