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

First of all, my opponent states that: "While cigarettes themselves are less healthy than alcohol, they are also much less commonly used. " Less commonly used? Probably. But just because alcohol is 'used' more than cigarettes doesn't necessarily mean that it is more detrimental to the well being of Americans. For instance, a man in his mid-thirties takes a drink in his home on a late Friday evening. He's just gotten home from work and decides to kick back in front of SportsCenter with a cold beer. That's it. Nothing dangerous happens. He's not driving. He's not drinking an entire six pack. Just. One. Beer. My opponent makes the assumption that the more of the substance, the more of the negative impact. Really, that can either be true or false, depending on the situation alcohol is used. Yes, it can be harmful and yes, it CAN kill people. But other times, it can be used in moderation and not cause harm to anyone at all. On the other hand, cigarettes always, every single time one is smoked, has a detrimental effect on the health of the user. Cigarettes are a major cause of: - Heart disease [1] - Bronchitis [1] - Emphysema [1] And - Stroke [1] It only takes one cigarette to become addicted to nicotine. Once you become addicted, you need more and more and more and more, and the continued addiction to cigarettes will start to literally eat away at your life. When you smoke, the tar from the cigarettes starts to build up in your lungs. Like soot in a chimney, the tar will start to accumulate in your lungs over time. Unfortunately for smokers, there is no way to clean that chimney. The tar eventually leads to cancer. The mixture of chemicals in the cigarette also temporarily increases your heart rate and blood pressure, straining your heart and blood pressure. Over time, this will only get worse and worse, causing your heart to have to strain harder to pump more blood through your narrowing blood vessels, slowly killing you over time. Also, men who smoke are ten times more likely to die from lung cancer from the tar and tobacco smoke. The blocking of the arteries can also lead to blood clots, thus causing a heart attack. And, smoking during pregnancy can lead to low birth weight, pre maturity, spontaneous abortion, and perinatal mortality - otherwise known as fetal tobacco syndrome. My opponent then states that "Alcohol also impairs your mind temporarily. So, not only is alcohol giving you cirrhosis, it also impairs your judgement, so it makes you go have sex with that woman who your perceive at the moment to be particularly arrtractive, and then you pick up AIDS. " While you may go and have sex with that woman, you don't necessarily pick up AIDS. You might just go and have sex with that woman with no un-pleasant side effects. Then again, you might or might not have sex with her at all. With cigarettes, there is a guarantee that something bad will happen to you (and there are many, many things that can happen to you). As far as alcohol goes, all of that is pure speculation on something that may or may not take place, as compared to pure, concrete evidence that smoking is bad for you and your health. My opponent then illustrates an example of driving under the influence (commonly known as DUI). Yes, this is a common occurrence in the United States, but when you compare the overall statistics of how many people die from accidents (that may or may NOT have been from drinking) to how many people die from heart disease ALONE, the accidents pale in comparison. When compared to overall deaths in the U. S. .. : Leading causes of death in America (2006) [2] 1. Heart disease: 631,636 (majorly impacted by smoking) [2] 2. Cancer: 559,888 (majorly impacted by smoking) [2] 3. Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 137,119 (impacted by smoking) [2] 4. Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 124,583 (probably impacted by smoking) [2] 5. Accidents (unintentional injuries): 121,599 (possibly car related, maybe alcohol related) [2] 6. Diabetes: 72,449 (not impacted by smoking or drinking) [2] 7. Alzheimer's disease: 72,432 (not impacted by smoking or drinking) [2] 8. Influenza and Pneumonia: 56,326 (majorly impacted by smoking) [2] Totals: Deaths impacted by smoking - 1,509,552 Deaths (possibly) impacted by drinking - 121,599 (and that's being generous) Finally, my opponent makes the point that smoking doesn't have an impact on the people around the smoker. It does. Second hand smoke, otherwise known as Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS), causes cancer in people who live with a smoker. It is responsible for many, many deaths, infections, and detrimental effects to people in the United States, including: 1. 46,000 deaths from heart disease in non smokers who live with smokers [3] 2. 3,400 lung cancer deaths in non-smoking adults [3] 3. 150,000 to 300,000 lung infections in children younger than 18 months of age [3] If an adult drinks in a house among other people, they, themselves, may or may not be harmed by the drug. Unlike cigarettes, a drink does not travel like a toxious cloud and harm everyone living with the person. The amount of damage it does is in direct proportion to the amount of people actually ingesting and using it, unlike smoking, which can harm you even if you are around it at all, even if you don't use it. Why do you think they make designated smoking areas in amusement parks? Because its toxic to be around whether you are the person smoking it or not. Therefore, it detrimentally affects the American public by ONE person smoking. Yes, the same can be said for alcohol, but there are many other factors that need to occur for it to be detrimental to others besides the one drinking: 1. Is the drinker driving? 2. How intoxicated are they? This is compared to smoking, when only once factor needs to be considered: Is the person smoking? In drinking, the severity of the person's intoxication depends on how much they are drinking, thus why there is a legal blood-alcohol level. It takes at least a few drinks to be over that limit. In smoking, however, one cigarette is already too many, and is already enough for the user to become addicted. I excitedly await my opponents response! 1 - . http://www.cancer.org... 2 - . http://www.cdc.gov... 3 - . http://www.cancer.org...