Alcohol as deadly as smoking: study
New research has suggested that alcohol abuse causes as much damage to human health, and kills as many people, as smoking.
A study published in Britain in the medical journal the Lancet says that in countries where excessive drinking is common, alcohol is responsible for a high incidence of conditions such as cancer, heart disease or mental illness, as well as many accidents and injuries.
The study says that in parts of eastern Europe and central Asia, more than 12 per cent of all illnesses and deaths can be attributed to alcohol abuse.
But it found that in the Muslim world, where drinking is uncommon, the figure stands at just over 1 per cent.