The Federals list of what kills us the most

[freethefly 6]

Annual Causes of Death in the United States
Tobacco 435,000
Poor Diet and Physical Inactivity 365,000
Alcohol 85,000
Microbial Agents 75,000
Toxic Agents 55,000
Motor Vehicle Crashes 26,347
Adverse Reactions to Prescription Drugs 32,000
Suicide 30,622
Incidents Involving Firearms 29,000
Homicide 20,308
Sexual Behaviors 20,000
All Illicit Drug Use, Direct and Indirect 17,000
Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Such As Aspirin 7,600
Marijuana 0


(2000): "The leading causes of death in 2000 were tobacco (435,000 deaths; 18.1% of total US deaths), poor diet and physical inactivity (400,000 deaths; 16.6%), and alcohol consumption (85,000 deaths; 3.5%). Other actual causes of death were microbial agents (75,000), toxic agents (55,000), motor vehicle crashes (43,000), incidents involving firearms (29,000), sexual behaviors (20,000), and illicit use of drugs (17,000)." (Note: According to a correction published by the Journal on Jan. 19, 2005, "On page 1240, in Table 2, '400,000 (16.6)' deaths for 'poor diet and physical inactivity' in 2000 should be '365,000 (15.2).' A dagger symbol should be added to 'alcohol consumption' in the body of the table and a dagger footnote should be added with 'in 1990 data, deaths from alcohol-related crashes are included in alcohol consumption deaths, but not in motor vehicle deaths. In 2000 data, 16,653 deaths from alcohol-related crashes are included in both alcohol consumption and motor vehicle death categories." Source: Journal of the American Medical Association, Jan. 19, 2005, Vol. 293, No. 3, p. 298.)

Source: Mokdad, Ali H., PhD, James S. Marks, MD, MPH, Donna F. Stroup, PhD, MSc, Julie L. Gerberding, MD, MPH, "Actual Causes of Death in the United States, 2000," Journal of the American Medical Association, March 10, 2004, Vol. 291, No. 10, pp. 1238, 1241.


(Average 1982-1998): According to Canadian researchers, approximately 32,000 hospitalized patients (and possibly as many as 106,000) in the USA die each year because of adverse reactions to their prescribed medications.

Source: Lazarou, J, Pomeranz, BH, Corey, PN, "Incidence of adverse drug reactions in hospitalized patients: a meta-analysis of prospective studies," Journal of the American Medical Association (Chicago, IL: American Medical Association, 1998), 1998;279:1200-1205, also letters column, "Adverse Drug Reactions in Hospitalized Patients," JAMA (Chicago, IL: AMA, 1998), Nov. 25, 1998, Vol. 280, No. 20, from the web at http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v280n20/ffull/jlt1125-1.html, last accessed Feb. 12, 2001.


(2001): The US Centers for Disease Control reports that in 2001, there were a total of 30,622 deaths from suicide in the US.

Source: Arias, Elizabeth, Ph.D.; Robert N. Anderson, Ph.D.; Hsiang-Ching Kung, Ph.D.; Sherry L. Murphy, B.S.; Kenneth D. Kochanek, M.A.; Division of Vital Statistics, "Deaths: Final Data for 2001," National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 50, No. 3 (Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics, Sept. 18, 2003), Table C, p. 8, from the web at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr52/nvsr52_03.pdf, last accessed Jan. 27, 2004.


(2001): The US Centers for Disease Control reports that in 2001, there were a total of 20,308 deaths from homicide in the US.

Source: Arias, Elizabeth, Ph.D.; Robert N. Anderson, Ph.D.; Hsiang-Ching Kung, Ph.D.; Sherry L. Murphy, B.S.; Kenneth D. Kochanek, M.A.; Division of Vital Statistics, "Deaths: Final Data for 2001," National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 50, No. 3 (Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics, Sept. 18, 2003), Table C, p. 8, from the web at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr52/nvsr52_03.pdf, last accessed Jan. 27, 2004.


(2000): "Illicit drug use is associated with suicide, homicide, motor-vehicle injury, HIV infection, pneumonia, violence, mental illness, and hepatitis. An estimated 3 million individuals in the United States have serious drug problems. Several studies have reported an undercount of the number of deaths attributed to drugs by vital statistics; however, improved medical treatments have reduced mortality from many diseases associated with illicit drug use. In keeping with the report by McGinnis and Foege, we included deaths caused indirectly by illicit drug use in this category. We used attributable fractions to compute the number of deaths due to illicit drug use. Overall, we estimate that illicit drug use resulted in approximately 17000 deaths in 2000, a reduction of 3000 deaths from the 1990 report."

Source: Mokdad, Ali H., PhD, James S. Marks, MD, MPH, Donna F. Stroup, PhD, MSc, Julie L. Gerberding, MD, MPH, "Actual Causes of Death in the United States, 2000," Journal of the American Medical Association, March 10, 2004, Vol. 291, No. 10, p. 1242.


(1996): "Each year, use of NSAIDs (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs) accounts for an estimated 7,600 deaths and 76,000 hospitalizations in the United States." (NSAIDs include aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac, ketoprofen, and tiaprofenic acid.)

Source: Robyn Tamblyn, PhD; Laeora Berkson, MD, MHPE, FRCPC; W. Dale Jauphinee, MD, FRCPC; David Gayton, MD, PhD, FRCPC; Roland Grad, MD, MSc; Allen Huang, MD, FRCPC; Lisa Isaac, PhD; Peter McLeod, MD, FRCPC; and Linda Snell, MD, MHPE, FRCPC, "Unnecessary Prescribing of NSAIDs and the Management of NSAID-Related Gastropathy in Medical Practice," Annals of Internal Medicine (Washington, DC: American College of Physicians, 1997), September 15, 1997, 127:429-438, from the web at http://www.acponline.org/journals/annals/15sep97/nsaid.htm, last accessed Feb. 14, 2001, citing Fries, JF, "Assessing and understanding patient risk," Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology Supplement, 1992;92:21-4.


An exhaustive search of the literature finds no credible reports of deaths induced by marijuana. The US Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) records instances of drug mentions in medical examiners' reports, and though marijuana is mentioned, it is usually in combination with alcohol or other drugs. Marijuana alone has not been shown to cause an overdose death.

Source: Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), available on the web at http://www.samhsa.gov/; also see Janet E. Joy, Stanley J. Watson, Jr., and John A. Benson, Jr., "Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base," Division of Neuroscience and Behavioral Research, Institute of Medicine (Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1999), available on the web at http://www.nap.edu/html/marimed/; and US Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, "In the Matter of Marijuana Rescheduling Petition" (Docket #86-22), September 6, 1988, p. 57.

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young

[AggieDave 6]

But didn't the Marijana lead to the poor diet and physical inactivity?

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[markd_nscr986 0]

Let me guess where you are headed with this.......

Up in Smoke?

Marc SCR 6046 SCS 3004

[justinb138 0]

Hmm. Prescription drugs cause more deaths than firearms.

Interesting...

[Gravitymaster 0]

Quote

Let me guess where you are headed with this.......

Up in Smoke?

Anyone who has ever seen a Cheech and Chong movie knows how adversley marijuana affects the brain.

[freethefly 6]

The point shown is that the most deadly substance used on a regular basis is legal and that no other consequence to its use other than death is warrented. On the other hand the safest of all the only consequence to its use is incarceration. Any logical person would view this as an insane policy.

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young

[justinb138 0]

Quote

Any logical person

Well, that pretty much excludes the entire gov't.

[larsrulz 0]

Researchers at the St. Louis University School of Medicine say large doses of marijuana may be related to stroke deaths among teenagers.


Not to mention that there are many instance of marijuana use without alcohol use in connection with traffic accidents which cause death, yet your data only includes alcohol induced accidents as alcohol deaths, yet not drug induced accidents as such. I could care less what people choose to do in their free time, but your data is a bit skewed.

Listen bud, just step away from the bong.

I got a strong urge to fly, but I got no where to fly to. -PF

[Darius11 12]

what about that kid who always gets killed in the TV commercials.

that end by saying

Marijuana KILLS

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[markd_nscr986 0]

***Well, that pretty much excludes the entire gov't.






My thinking precisely!

Marc SCR 6046 SCS 3004

[freethefly 6]

Not my data. This is data compiled by the federal government, not by me.

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young

[freethefly 6]

L.E.O. to pot smoker: "step away from the bong."
BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG,BANG,BANG. Reload. BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG,BANG,BANG.
LEO: "He was reaching for his Bic. I had no choice but to shoot. I was in fear of my life."

So there you have it, folks, another marijuana related death.
Just a scenario.

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young

[sfzombie13 324]

paid for by the us govt. so you can throw the ads out the window, and don't ever use a tv ad as a basis for an argument. oh, and cell phones and eating in cars cause a lot of accidents. but that's perfectly legal. i would hasten to say that just because one teenager shoots another with an "unloaded" gun is a perfectly good reason to outlaw them.

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Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes

[JohnRich 4]

Quote

Hmm. Prescription drugs cause more deaths than firearms.
Interesting...

Note that those firearms fatalities include suicides, which usually comprises about half of total gun deaths. Readers should not presume that that number represents only murders. Intentional suicides are not a gun problem.

[SkyDekker 1,465]

I have always wondered about this.

so, if some one dies of lung cancer and they smoked, does that automatically become a smoking related death?

How do they know this person would not have suffered from lung cancer if they were a non-smoker?

[rehmwa 2]

Quote

I have always wondered about this.

so, if some one dies of lung cancer and they smoked, does that automatically become a smoking related death?

How do they know this person would not have suffered from lung cancer if they were a non-smoker?

There's a school of (simplified) thought on cancer - that you need a genetic predisposition AND a triger. One won't do it, only both. So without the smoking, likely the genetic dispostion towards the cancer may not have manifested. But it could also have been triggered by outdoor gases, 2ndhand smoke, etc. You can draw a suicide vs gun analogy to this, but it would have the same lack of crispness that would make drawing any conclusion a worthless exercise.

As far as your direct question: Do I know what rhetorical means?!

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[SkyDekker 1,465]

Okay, I get some of your answer, so basically the statistic really doesn't mean that much, since there are a fair bit of assumptions made.

I am not trying to draw any analogies or similarities, just wondered how they get those numbers.

[Guest]

Marijuana 0

Do you mean to tell me that NO ONE drove a car or operated machinery while buzzed?

mh

.

"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

[sfzombie13 324]

Quote

Marijuana 0

Do you mean to tell me that NO ONE drove a car or operated machinery while buzzed?

mh

.

no, just that they didn't kill anybody. it's a lot safer than drinking

_________________________________________
Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes

[happythoughts 0]

60 years ago, tobacco was largely regarded as harmless. It was made to appear as fashionable and sophisticated by Lauren Bacall and Bogie.

Eventually, information surfaced regarding lung cancer, etc.

20 years from now, people may determine that smoke of any type can cause lung cancer.

Lack of current data does not mean that a substance is truly harmless.

[billvon 3,071]

>no, just that they didn't kill anybody. it's a lot safer than drinking

I recall a recent train crash that killed a fair number of people; the driver was found to be high.

[DrunkMonkey 0]

Disagree. Legalize it, people will use it as openly/frequently as alcohol. the accidents/deaths will follow. It's a question of rate of use, not morbidity.

[CanuckInUSA 0]

Without a doubt people are intoxicated after they've been smoking weed and yes accidents can happen while someone is intoxicated. But a funny thing happens when someone gets behind the wheel after smoking. They slow down. The same can not be said of someone who has been drinking. Just an observation. Long term usage of pot is not good for your health. But it is not the deadly drug that uninformed think it is.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[DrunkMonkey 0]

Quote

yes accidents can happen while someone is intoxicated. But a funny thing happens when someone gets behind the wheel after smoking. They slow down...

Their reaction times slow down. But don't try to tell me that an intoxicant will cause someone to take more care...It is just as illegal to drive stoned as well as it is while drunk. (As it should be.)

[CanuckInUSA 0]

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Their reaction times slow down.

No argument here.

Quote

It is just as illegal to drive stoned as well as it is while drunk.

No argument here as well.

Quote

But don't try to tell me that an intoxicant will cause someone to take more care...

You can choose not to believe me, but it seems to happen to a lot of people. Maybe it's a bi-product of the slower reaction times, but people do tend to drive slower after smoking weed.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over