Drugs or tobacco: Which is worse?
England’s RSA Commission on Illegal Drugs has released a report pointing to the dangerous effects of not only illegal drugs, but also tobacco and alcohol. The report discusses the fact that more people are harmed by alcohol and tobacco than by illegal drugs. Additionally, tobacco costs to the government are enormous – last year the National Health Service spent £1.7 billion a year as a result of tobacco, compared with £0.5 million for illegal drugs. In 2004 there were 106,000 smoking related deaths. The two year study headed by academics, drug workers, journalists and a senior police officer calls for a radical rethink of government drug policy, emphasizing that need to create an “index of harm” therefore increasing emphasis on drugs like alcohol and tobacco. Click here for the press release.

New York City Health Department reports few city women are smoking
A new report released by the New York City Health Department reports a dramatic decline in the number of female smokers in the city. The number of female smokers has plummeted by 123,000 since 2002, a 20 percent decline. In 2005, 16 percent of women were lighting up, compared with 20 percent three years prior. The biggest declines were among white women and women between the ages of 18 and 24. The steep reduction comes after the city passed a ban on smoking in bars and restaurants and boosted cigarette taxes in 2002. Click here to read more details of the report.

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