A new study in the British medical journal Lancet has determined alcohol is a more dangerous drug than both crack and heroin when the combined harms to the user and to others are assessed. The scientists rated alcohol the most harmful overall and almost three times as harmful as cocaine or tobacco. The World Health Organization estimates that risks linked to alcohol cause 2.5 million deaths a year from heart and liver disease, road accidents, suicides and cancer. The scientists assessed damage according to nine criteria on harm to the user and seven criteria on harm to others. Drugs were then scored out of 100, with 100 given to the most harmful drug and zero indicating no harm at all. The scientists found alcohol was most harmful, with a score of 72, followed by heroin with 55 and crack with 54. Marijuana was given a score of 20.