Even Sugar Is More Harmful Than Marijuana, Americans Say
Of all the vices a person can indulge in, which is the least bad for your health? According to a new survey from NBC News/The Wall Street Journal, Americans believe that marijuana is the most benign — in fact, many believe it’s even less harmful than sugar.
Those surveyed were asked which substance “is the most harmful to a person’s overall health”: marijuana, sugar, tobacco or alcohol?
Forty-nine percent of respondents said that tobacco was the most dangerous. Alcohol came in at 24 percent, followed by sugar at 15 percent. Only 8 percent of those surveyed said marijuana was the most dangerous.
High alcohol consumption is indeed linked with a number of grave health problems, including heart disease, liver disease, a weakened immune system and elevated risks of developing cancer. There are also about 88,000 deaths attributable to excessive alcohol use each year in the United States.
Similarly, there’s a laundry list of well-documented adverse health effects related to tobacco use, which harms nearly every organ in the body and causes the deaths ofnearly 480,000 people in the U.S. annually.
But perhaps what’s most surprising is that Americans think sugar poses a greater health risk than a drug that the federal government classifies among “the most dangerous” substances available, alongside heroin and LSD.
On the other hand, considering the health effects associated with, say, drinking a lot of soda — which can lead to obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and ultimately heart disease, stroke and even death — Americans may be onto something here.
Sugar, an additive to many kinds of food and drink, is difficult to avoid. The American Heart Association recommends that women get no more than 100 of their daily calories from added sugars, while for men the upper limit is 150 calories. However, for many people around the world, added sugars are contributing an additional 500 calories a day.
Sugary sodas can be so dangerous, doctors say that soda intake should be limited to less than one can of soda per day.