My friend and I got into a friendly debate over this today.

She claims that drinking alcohol is just as bad as smoking cigarettes. I think smoking cigarettes is way worse than alcohol. Both our views are biased— she’s a smoker and never drinks, I’m a drinker and never smoke.

My POV: Smoking is worse because one cigarette can put all others around you at risk for health issues (second hand smoke) where as one beer only affects me. Smoking also causes lung cancer, mouth/throat cancer, tooth decay, heart issues and so much more. It takes far more drinks and many more years of drinking to get to liver failure than it does to get something from smoking. Lung cancer is likely far more aggressive and harder to treat. Also, a doctor will say it’s ok to have like 3-4 drinks a week. No doctor will say it’s ok to smoke.

Her POV: Lung cancer and liver disease are both just as bad. A drinker can kill someone from drinking and driving. Alcohol is more addictive and people can die from alcohol withdrawal whereas those who don’t get a cigarette are just a little more cranky.

Now clearly I can understand that severe alcoholism is on par to be just as bad as a heavy smoker. So for the sake of argument, let’s say both individuals are casual. Casual smoker, casual drinker. No more than 5-10 cigarettes a day (no reliable source, but many pages listed this as an average smoker) vs no more than 7 drinks per week or 3 drinks per sitting (NIAAA recognizes that this is considered social drinking and a low risk for alcoholism.)

Thoughts?