Cigarettes are, overall, more detrimental to the overall well-being of Americans than alcohol.

My opponent has posted an excellent argument in each round, and he should be commended and thanked for that. I apologize in advance if I come off sounding angry or sharp; I have just come off of a climate change debate which I am extremely passionate about, so I'm still a little bit wired from that. "it was not for how MUCH life it takes off of you, but for the reason it DOES take life off of you." I looked at a life expectancy calculator [1], and with all of the default settings, medium diet, and medium exercise for a 180 lb, 40 year old man, he is expected to live 84 years. If he becomes a smoker (1 pack a day), but nothing else changes, his life expectancy becomes 80 years. If he is not a smoker, but is a heavy drinker, his life expectancy becomes 77 years. Alcohol kills too. "Are you guaranteed, and I mean GUARENTEED..." That was a funny way of stating it, them being spelled differently. "...no doubt, absolutely one-hundred percent certain that you will lose 11 minutes off your life every time you drink a beer or alcoholic beverage?" That is a moot point. Ultimately, what matters is the end result. The sample man who I used for the life expectancy calculator passed away younger as a heavy drinker than he did as a smoker. Not to mention, that was keeping his body weight. Every gram of alcohol is worth 7 calories. So a heavy drinker also runs an elevated risk of becoming obese, which is, of course, one of, if not THE biggest health crisis in the developed world, and particularly America. "Well, a cigarette, one cigarette, starts the deadly chain reaction described in my first paragraph." As I've mentioned many times, Alcohol not only kills in the same way that cigarettes kill, but it also kills indirectly. During the week, about 30% of fatal traffic accidents are alcohol related. This number increases to 53% during the weekends [2]. In most states, it is illegal to drive with a blood alcohol content above .08%. For a smaller person, that can be just one or two drinks. That is also a deadly chain reaction. "The only reason I say smoking has anything at all to do with heart disease is because the cases of heart disease it causes are a good part of the 440,000 deaths attributed to smoking each year" That is true. So is obesity, cholesterol level, blood pressure, stress, diet, activity level, family history, our good friend alcohol, and a plethora of other factors. "But when you look at statistics alone, it proves that smoking is WORSE. I have not yet seen anything from my opponent to contradict those facts or my position." You have not provided any viable statistics, sourced from an impartial body and using scientifically sourced facts. So I have nothing to "contradict." "Deaths from smoking according to (http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com............): 440,000 Deaths from drinking: 100,000" Thank you for ignoring my previous statement regarding wiki answers. I will repost my argument for your convenience. "I strongly suggest that you look at the correction posted in the wiki answer which you attributed the drinking deaths to." I still suggest it. "Does someone die every time someone else has a drink? HEAVENS no. Does someone die a little every time they have a smoke. DEFINETLY YES." See every single argument which I have made. "Well, I did: 1/3 of ALL cases are NOT alcohol fueled. Case and point." While you have satisfied my slightly tongue-in-cheek request, you have failed to explain what that means, other than the satisfaction of my hyperbole. The fact is, 2/3 of domestic violence is alcohol fueled. A negligible amount, if any, are caused by tobacco. Alcohol is bad for one's physical health both directly and indirectly, and we know that. We also know that it is bad for the mental health of users, causing them to do stupid things and impairing their judgment. When they do stupid things, they can really embarrass themselves when they are sober, hurting their social health. The "overall well-being" stated in the resolution includes all of those things. As we agree, tobacco and alcohol both are unhealthy. However, alcohol is unhealthy in a very wide scope, directly and indirectly, and in most aspects of life, as well as shortening the lifespan. Tobacco, though it does shorten the lifespan, it does just that. It does not cause thousands of car accidents per year. It does not impair one's judgment to any extent that alcohol does. It is unhealthy, but it does not cause nearly the destruction that alcohol does. I would like to thank my opponent for his excellent arguments and cordial demeanor. However, it is also true that alcohol is more detrimental to the overall wellbeing of Americans than cigarettes, so the resolution has been negated. Therefore, there is no choice but to vote CON. Thank you. 1. http://moneycentral.msn.com... 2. http://www.sixwise.com...