yes so many statistics so little relevance as usual

• In high-income countries, alcohol is the second leading risk factor for burden of disease (6.7%) (WHO, 2009).

• Alcohol is responsible for approximately 20 percent of deaths due to motor vehicle accidents; 30 percent of deaths due to oesophageal cancer, liver cancer, epilepsy and homicide; and 50 percent of deaths due to liver cirrhosis (WHO, 2009).

• For healthy adults, drinking more than two standard drinks per day increases the risk of death from alcohol-related disease or injury to over 1 in 100 (National Health & Medical Research Council, 2009).

• Drinking four standard drinks on a single occasion more than doubles the relative risk of an injury in the six hours afterwards (National Health & Medical Research Council 2009).

It may surprise you that depending on the study referred to, deaths from cannabis use vary between few & none. There is no point at which anyone can OD from cannaboids but chronic use could mirror the damage caused by tobacco. Even then not many would smoke more than five joints a day yet many cigarette smokers would go through a couple of packs/day.

Cannabis may aggravate existing mental problems & some users may endanger themselves while under the influence. For most people the greatest danger is weight gain from excess consumption of potato chippies.

Not to mention Cannabis Griff…

The gender suicide differential is alarming, and the fact there are so many at all is pretty sad.

A correlation may be found between some of the number of men taking their own lives and those involved in the Family Court / Child Support nightmare, I suspect.

mara (497) Says:
February 4th, 2013 at 12:08 pm

Some people also die because their hearts stop beating eventually. Just like that … pooft .. gone. Didn’t notice any of them in the stats. I hope the health wallahs are working on that one too.

I’m afraid the health wallahs aren’t working on that one, basically the certificates are supposed to be filled out as though a cause of death is definable, no matter how old or frail the patient. Some deaths are clearly natural but the cause undefinable, and especially in a hospital setting a junior doctor may scratch his or her head, consult with the family doctor, and then stick down some condition the patient was known to have, even though they don’t have a clue on a scientific level what might have done the deed. Autopsies aren’t all that common any longer.

The death certificate instructions are off-the-planet unrealistic.

To be found here: http://www.health.govt.nz/publication/guide-certifying-causes-death

Excerpt:

Part I(a)
• Enter the disease, injury or complication which directly preceded death.
• It can be the sole entry on the certificate when only one condition such as
viral myocarditis or asthma was present at death.
• It may be a complication such as peritonitis, toxaemia or septicaemia.
• In the case of violent or unnatural deaths it is the injury resulting from
external causes. Note: This case would be at the instruction of a coroner.
• Do not enter the mode of dying such as collapse, respiratory failure,
syncope

Stats on suicide
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10831455

Up to a point, yes – but it’s worth looking at the age of death from those diseases as well.

Using USA figures (they were easier to find) -

From 2005-2009, the median age at death for cancer of the breast was 68 years of age.
21.3% of those were younger than 55 years
41.3% were between 55 and 74
37.5% were older than 74 years.

From 2005-2009, the median age at death for cancer of the prostate was 80 years of age.
1.6% of those were younger than 55 years
27.8% were between 55 and 74
70.6% were older than 74 years.

from

http://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/breast.html
http://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/prost.html

You have to die of something, but smokers on average die younger.

Shame they don’t include contraception on the graph. The number of potential NZers killed by that means is enormous. Not to mention abstention, the number of births that could have happened that didn’t because people didn’t have sex at every opportunity is simply amazing…..

Shame they didn’t include abortions in this graph. 180 of those marks per year, the graphic would have been telling.

I’m not clear how you die of dementia? Do you have dementia when you die, or does it actually eventually kill you? I can see that the mind goes, but it doesn’t seem to stop the organs working – so did people really die of dementia?