...in terms of addiction, long term effects, short term effects, dangers to others around you...
There are only 2 options because I am just interested in a comparison between cigarettes and booze...I realize there are things out there more dangerous than both...
alcohol - more expensive and more immediately dibilitating. Causes more immediate damage to the brain, changes personality, increases violence, causes looser ethics and morals in the user...DWI...etc etc.
I'd have say the booze. I've seen people go downhill with it much quicker and seen it get much more out of hand that ciggarettes. THey are both very harmful to your body, but booze can be filtered out by the liver much easier than tar can from your lungs. But I am basing my decision on what it can do to your life. I've never seen someone try to sell thier mothers jewelry or steal a wallet for a smoke, but Ihave seen that for booze. I've seen people get very hurt by it. I still drink, well not right now, but before I got pregnant I would have the social drink with my friends once every other week or so, but if it ever got to the point where I couldn't have fun without it or I was getting out of control I would stop, or have my friends make me.
and cigarettes are a bit more dangerous in that it is easier to die from them. Drinking can be if you are driving or if you are such an alcoholic that your liver is gone. Also can lead to abuse
Same can be said for alcohol. I've known somw pretty hard life-long drinkers who never showed any real effects. In fact one of 'em died from lung cancer. Guess where he got it.
The dangers of smoking are questionable & unpredictable. The dangers of alcohol are only limited by the drinkers self-control & luck. Bish said it well in post 7.
In real life, neither is dangerous. The user is the problem. Somebody who smokes haf a pack a day & drinks 2 glasses of wine nightly will likely have no problems whatsoever.