Media Release

Date: Tuesday, February 25, 2003

Tobacco, Alcohol And Illicit Drugs Responsible For Seven Million Preventable Deaths Worldwide

Tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs are prematurely killing around seven million people worldwide each year, and robbing tens of millions more of a healthy life, according to research presented this week at the National Drug Research Institute international research symposium, Preventing substance use, risky use and harm: What is evidence-based policy?, in Fremantle.

The research into the global burden of disease attributable to alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs found that in 2000, tobacco use was responsible for 4.9 million deaths worldwide, equating to 71 percent of all drug-related deaths. Around 1.8 million deaths were attributable to the use of alcohol (26 percent of all drug-related deaths), and illicit drugs (heroin, cocaine and amphetamines) caused approximately 223,000 deaths (3 percent of all drug-related deaths).

The research estimated that between them, tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs were responsible for around 8.9 percent of the total global burden of disease worldwide in 2000, accounting for the loss of 129 million DALYs (disability-adjusted life years). This measure of burden of disease combines years of life lost due to premature death with years of living with a disabling condition, thus a DALY is equal to the loss of one healthy year of life.

Tobacco and alcohol accounted for about the same amount of global burden of disease at 59 million DALYs (4.1 percent) and 58 million DALYs (4.0 percent) respectively, both about 5 times as much as the burden attributable to illicit drugs at 11.6 million DALYs (0.8 percent). The large difference between DALYs and mortality is due to the fact that tobacco is related to mortality and morbidity later in life, whereas the consequences of alcohol and illicit drugs occur at younger ages.

Presenting the research, Professor Juergen Rehm of the Institute of Addiction Research in Zurich, Switzerland, said that while the global burden of disease resulting from tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs was already huge, it was expected to increase even further in the future.

"One reason for this is increased worldwide exposure to these substances, especially in the highly populated emerging economies of South East Asia and China", said Professor Rehm. "Another is that the relative share of diseases associated with substance use, such as chronic disease, accidents and injuries, as well as HIV and hepatitis, are predicted to increase."

Professor Rehm said that while the outlook seemed bleak, the expected increase could potentially be stopped, as effective prevention strategies do exist, especially for alcohol and tobacco.

"The worst thing about the burden of disease attributable to alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs is that it is highly preventable", said Professor Rehm. "It really depends on health policy decisions as to whether the current trends continue."

The research was conducted as part of the World Health Organisation's World Health Report 2002 - Reducing Risks, Promoting Healthy Life.

ENDS

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Rachael Lobo
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