Alcohol is the most harmful drug, even worse than heroin and crack cocaine. ~Dr. David Nutt

Does this statement shock you? It is the truth. Dr. David Nutt is a professor of neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London. He studies how drugs affect the mind. In this video interview, he explains why alcohol is the number one drug problem in the U.K., even worse than heroin and crack cocaine.

Alcohol Is The Most Harmful Drug

Maybe you drink with your friends and tell yourself, "Well at least I don't do drugs." (Read about the Opioid Epidemic) That is a lie, because in fact alcohol is a drug. Or maybe you think to yourself, "There's nothing wrong with drinking beer." Beer is alcohol and alcohol is a drug. I want to share some facts with you about alcohol and alcohol addiction that will hopefully change your thinking about this toxic and dangerous drug.

Here are some facts you may not know about alcohol. I want you to see that alcohol addiction is a BIG problem:

• Alcohol is the common term for ethanol or ethyl alcohol, a chemical substance found in gasoline and nail polish remover. (Who would pour gasoline down their throat?)
• In Ireland, there are almost twice as many deaths due to alcohol as all other drugs combined.
• In the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 58% of full-time college students ages 18–22 drank alcohol in the past month.
• Drinking alcohol increases the risk of many different cancers, such as cancer of the mouth, esophagus, larynx, liver, colon, and breast.
• Alcohol use during the teenage years interferes with normal adolescent brain development.
• One study found that heavy-drinking adolescents who had been sober for 3 weeks still scored 10% lower than non-drinking peers on tests requiring verbal and nonverbal recall and skills needed for map reading, geometry, and science.
• Alcohol is the fourth leading preventable cause of death in the United States.
• According to the World Health Organization the use of alcohol results in 3.3 million deaths yearly.
• Youth who drink heavily have 23.6 times greater odds of intentionally injuring themselves by means such as self-cutting, attempted hanging, or self-poisoning as compared to youth who don’t drink heavily.

So if alcohol is such a dangerous drug WHY are so many people using it? Because alcohol is a profitable industry. Did you know that total alcoholic beverage sales in the United States alone was 219.52 billion U.S. dollars in 2015? And even the government benefits from taxes paid on the sales of alcohol.

Alcohol companies spend about $2 billion every year advertising in the United States to sell you lies, convincing you that alcohol will make you happy or beautiful or fun or relaxed. The people in the ads are always skinny, attractive, smiling, and surrounded by friends. They are trying to make it look appealing, safe, natural, and normal. And they start early turning you into a consumer.

Look at this baby bottle shaped like a champagne flute. The truth is that alcohol causes weight gain, makes your skin wrinkle prematurely, causes cancer, damages your brain, and more. Alcohol addiction is not pretty or happy or fun. I want you to know the truth about alcohol so you can have a reason to say no when someone tries to hand you a drink. If you have already ventured down that path and are struggling please download our free eBook below. Don't fall for the lies.

References:
Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth
World Health Organization
National Survey on Drug Use and Health
Scientific Study: "Drug harms in the UK"
Facts from "Alcohol Action Ireland"