Poll: Twice as many Americans say sugar is more harmful than marijuana

(Image credit: David McNew/Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

At the end of a wide-ranging new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, respondents were asked to pick the most harmful of four substances. Almost half (48 percent) picked tobacco, 24 percent named alcohol, and then things got weird: 15 percent listed sugar as the most harmful thing for our body, with marijuana picking up the tail end at 8 percent. Yes, twice as many Americans said sugar is more detrimental to your health than pot.

Weed also won the race for the attention of the Millennials. An impressive 57 percent of respondents age 18 to 35 told the pollsters that they have "seen, read, or heard a lot" about the efforts to legalize marijuana, while only 44 percent said the same of ObamaCare, 39 percent about Russia's invasion of Crimea, and 34 percent the string of court cases in favor of same-sex marriage. This is generally good news for those pushing to legalize recreational pot, and bad news for Big Tobacco and, to a lesser extent, craft brewers.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.