The "hard living" comment seems to imply drug use, a common cause of premature cardiac death. There was also mention of "coke" at the end of the OP, although it's ambiguous which unhealthy substance (the sugary one, or the deadly one?) was being described.
I'd imagine that cocaine use is relatively rare in technology, but it occurs in finance quite a bit. That's the dirty not-so-secret of the long hours in investment banking. I also think it's safe to assume that cocaine use is a lot more dangerous than long coding binges.
I'd argue the sweet stuff can be quite dangerous as well when consumed in large quantities. There's the directly dangerous effect (weight gain, diabetes) and the secondarily dangerous effect (weight gain, low energy resulting in low self-confidence which triggers depression).
Coca-cola is definitely dangerous, and the temptation to power my way through coding problems with large amounts of Coke, which I could not resist for longer than a week, put me on the path of severe health problems, due not entirely to weight gain (since most Coke-based calories would substitute for other calories) but also from the practice of having a short term fix to any problems involving to consumption of sugar, not to mention the cycle of being tired -> drinking Coke -> being unable to sleep -> being tired the next day. After quitting (my job), I fell to a recreational level of Coke consumption, and my body is thanking me for it to this day. The scary question is whether I can maintain this through another development job...
I'd imagine that cocaine use is relatively rare in technology, but it occurs in finance quite a bit. That's the dirty not-so-secret of the long hours in investment banking. I also think it's safe to assume that cocaine use is a lot more dangerous than long coding binges.