A glass of vodka "for health" is as harmful as a cigarette, medics say

Alcohol causes as many deaths and as much disability around the world as tobacco, according to a review published in The Lancet today.

The authors write that alcohol causes more than 60 different medical conditions, including breast cancer and coronary heart disease, according to &to=http://www.dehavilland.co.uk' target=_blank>Dehavilland.

Overall, 4% of the global burden of disease was attributable to alcohol, 4.1% to tobacco and 4.4% to high blood pressure, they wrote in the Lancet medical journal, &to=http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk' target=_blank>Manchesteronline informed.

The experts, led by Professor Robin Room, of the Centre for Social Research on Alcohol and Drugs at Stockholm University, Sweden, assessed the options for alcohol control.