According to some research, yes.
A British abstract study looked at various drugs, including cocaine, heroin, ecstacy, marijuana, and alcohol) and their effect on individuals and society. Researchers looked at a number of factors:” the addictive potentials, physical effects, emotional/functional costs to family systems, and the financial costs to society.
Their results showed that the most sever effects on individual users(harmful physical efects) came from heroin, crack cocaine, and crystal meth. The social costs were greatest from the use of alcohol, heroin and crack cocaine. But most shocking, with all things considered as a total package, alcohol was found to be the most harmful, causing the greatest combination of widespread social dysfunction and overall individual physical disability. (Overall, alcohol was the most harmful drug (overall harm score 72), with heroin (55) and crack cocaine (54) in second and third places.)
It may be hard to believe that alcohol is more harmful than crack cocaine, heroin, and other hard drugs, but when you think about all the effects alcohol has on our society, from drunk driving to liver disease and of course, the devastating effects of addiction, it’s easier to understand. According to the CDC, over 24,000 people die each year from alcohol-induced deaths, and that’s not including accidents and homicides. Another 15,000 die from alcoholic liver disease.
Avoid the harmful effects of alcohol by 1) not drinking at all, 2) sticking to a healthy amount of 1 or 2 drinks a night, 3) never binge drinking, 4) never drinking and driving.