The great alcohol debate

[El Cid]

So you agree that alcohol has measured and obvious health benefits then? Or are you disagreeing with the research?

 

I believe smoking cannabis has health benefits, but it should be discouraged.

[Obelix]

We are not talking about THC though. Are you going to make your point about alcohol?

[Robin-H]

I believe smoking cannabis has health benefits, but it should be discouraged.

 

Why is that? If you believe health benefits can be gained from smoking cannabis why would you want to discourage its use?

 

Do you think the health benefits would only effect a small proportion of the population (those with particular illnesses, such as MS) and any wider side effects amongst the general population would be negative, and so the use of it should be discouraged?

 

If that is the case, it can't really be equated to alcohol, as studies suggest that moderate intake is beneficial to all, and so it would be better to equate cannabis to say codeine or something, where the beneficial effects are limited to people with particular symptoms.

 

If you feel that the health benefits of smoking cannabis would be widespread across everybody who smoked it (such as the studies suggest about alcohol) then I'm not sure why you'd want to discourage its use.

 

Perhaps because you feel the negatives of smoking cannabis (whatever they are) would always out way any potential health benefits. Again, this is not the case with alcohol. Moderate drinkers wouldn't see any negatives at all, only the positives.

 

Or is it you feel that both alcohol and cannabis cause damage to society as a whole, and so the benefits gained by some (moderate drinkers) do not make up for the damage caused by others (heavy drinkers) and so in order to stop the bad consequences for some people the good consequences for other people also need to be stopped.

 

Whilst I don't generally agree with that position, I think that is a logical argument.

[Obelix]

Why is that? If you believe health benefits can be gained from smoking cannabis why would you want to discourage its use?

 

Well smoking is bad for the health in general and you can take THC in pill form or even a topical form so I suspect that would be preferable to inhaling it along with tobacco smoke.

[El Cid]

Whilst I don't generally agree with that position, I think that is a logical argument.

 

It is not based on real life though, in real life, people drink too much.

 

In the UK roughly 200 people every year are killed by drunk drivers, and then we have the many thousands that visit A+E due to alcohol; and then there are the health effects of alcohol.

 

Now that smoking is on the decline and less harmful e-cigs are used, alcohol is one of the drugs that causes most deaths in the UK.

[Obelix]

It is not based on real life though, in real life, people drink too much.

 

They do? You have evidence that all people do or just some of them in your apparently moralistic crusade on this?

 

In the UK roughly 200 people every year are killed by drunk drivers, and then we have the many thousands that visit A+E due to alcohol; and then there are the health effects of alcohol.

 

Now that smoking is on the decline and less harmful e-cigs are used, alcohol is one of the drugs that causes most deaths in the UK.

 

1% of all deaths in the UK are related to alcohol

 

Leading cause of death in the UK is still, just, Coronory heart disease. (closely followed by dementia)

 

Alcohol consumption dramatically reduces mortality from CHD as evidenced by my links. So if you want to reduce the 6000 odd deaths a year from alcohol you will increase the 100,000 deaths a year from CHD

 

So why do you want to kill people by reducing alcohol consumption?

Edited February 14, 2017 by Obelix

[TORONTONY]

It is not based on real life though, in real life, people drink too much.

 

In the UK roughly 200 people every year are killed by drunk drivers, and then we have the many thousands that visit A+E due to alcohol; and then there are the health effects of alcohol.

 

Now that smoking is on the decline and less harmful e-cigs are used, alcohol is one of the drugs that causes most deaths in the UK.

 

Bring in Prohibition, that worked well in the States a while back lol

[El Cid]

1% of all deaths in the UK are related to alcohol

 

 

By your figures that would be around 5,000 people die in England each year.

 

These are the figures from the ONS.

 

In 2015, there were 8,758 alcohol-related deaths in the UK, an age-standardised rate of 14.2 deaths per 100,000 population.

 

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/causesofdeath/bulletins/alcoholrelateddeathsintheunitedkingdom/registeredin2015

 

If alcohol is good for you, why do Scottish people die around 5 years earlier

 

---------- Post added 15-02-2017 at 19:58 ----------

 

Excessive drinking is now implicated in 33,000 deaths a year, according to a report launched yesterday.

 

Alcohol misuse is costing the NHS up to £3billion a year, with more than 28,000 hospital admissions caused by alcohol dependence or poisoning.

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-102707/Alcohol-deaths-rise-third.html#ixzz4YmmaPODR

Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

 

---------- Post added 15-02-2017 at 20:03 ----------

 

Bring in Prohibition, that worked well in the States a while back lol

 

Although I would not favour prohibition, the consumption of alcohol decreased significantly during prohibition.

Perhaps just enforcing the law that we have now, instead of allowing small shops to sell alcopops with very little enforcement.

Edited February 15, 2017 by El Cid

[Robin-H]

By your figures that would be around 5,000 people die in England each year.

 

These are the figures from the ONS.

 

In 2015, there were 8,758 alcohol-related deaths in the UK, an age-standardised rate of 14.2 deaths per 100,000 population.

 

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/causesofdeath/bulletins/alcoholrelateddeathsintheunitedkingdom/registeredin2015

 

If alcohol is good for you, why do Scottish people die around 5 years earlier

 

---------- Post added 15-02-2017 at 19:58 ----------

 

Excessive drinking is now implicated in 33,000 deaths a year, according to a report launched yesterday.

 

Alcohol misuse is costing the NHS up to £3billion a year, with more than 28,000 hospital admissions caused by alcohol dependence or poisoning.

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-102707/Alcohol-deaths-rise-third.html#ixzz4YmmaPODR

Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

 

---------- Post added 15-02-2017 at 20:03 ----------

 

 

Although I would not favour prohibition, the consumption of alcohol decreased significantly during prohibition.

Perhaps just enforcing the law that we have now, instead of allowing small shops to sell alcopops with very little enforcement.

 

And did life expectancy increase or alcohol related deaths decrease during the prohibition? Genuine question.

[El Cid]

And did life expectancy increase or alcohol related deaths decrease during the prohibition? Genuine question.

 

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism's studies show clear epidemiological evidence that "overall cirrhosis mortality rates declined precipitously with the introduction of Prohibition," despite widespread flouting of the law.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prohibition_in_the_United_States#Effects_of_Prohibition