Yeah it's a good point, although it does seem like the dangers of smoking are worse than drinking. I'd like to see an analysis of the risk vs. reward of drinki

Yeah it's a good point, although it does seem like the dangers of smoking are worse than drinking. I'd like to see an analysis of the risk vs. reward of drinking that factors in social effects. It would be really hard to do a good job of though, because the social effects are not linear, and you could always argue that a drinker could do something else that's social instead. Maybe smoking even comes out ahead with moderation and the right context. Precolumbian americans seemed to use tobacco in a fairly safe and socially beneficial way.