Aim: To compare the ages of death caused by tobacco smoking and alcohol risk drinking.
Methods: Smoking rates from the largest population survey, alcohol drinking data from the National Health Survey and data from the vital statistics from Germany are used and attributable fractions computed.
Results: Alcohol-attributable deaths occurred at the youngest age, followed by tobacco- plus alcohol-attributable cases, whereas death cases attributable to tobacco smoking only occur latest.
Conclusion: The overlap in the two substance-use behaviours has to be taken into account when considering attributable mortality data.