If you remember the 2004 “May I please have some more arsenic in my water, mommy?” campaign directed at President George W. Bush, this story is for you.
A new study in the British Medical Journal claims to link “moderate” exposures to arsenic in drinking water with increased risk of heart disease.
The study itself is not much to speak of as it is based on weak and/or statistically insignificant associations, only considered a few confounding risk factors (age, BMI, smoking status and education) and only followed study subjects for an average of six years. So it has a lot in common with other arsenic studies that the EPA relied on to (unjustly and expensively) tighten drinking water standards in 2001.
Adding his two cents in an accompanying commentary is Berkeley’s Allan H. Smith, a long-time pusher of the arsenic-in-drinking water scare.
Interestingly, this study was funded by U.S. taxpayers — even though the study subjects were Bangladeshis and the average drinking water concentration of arsenic was more than six times the U.S. standard. It would seem that the National Institutes of Health ought to have more relevant things to do with our money.
Just another spam dump from SAM SPAM. Just throw it in the trash like all the rest of the inedible crap.
This is What I HAVE..I have the whole Article after doing some research on ALCOHOL vs Smoking
Source: Drinking in the United States: Main Findings from the 1992 National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 11/98
Can we have some links, please?
THE CONSEQUENCES
One-quarter of all emergency room admissions, one-third of all suicides, and more than half of all homicides and incidents of domestic violence are alcohol-related. 5
Heavy drinking contributes to illness in each of the top three causes of death: heart disease, cancer and stroke. 6
Almost half of all traffic fatalities are alcohol-related. 7
Between 48% and 64% of people who die in fires have blood alcohol levels indicating intoxication. 8
Fetal alcohol syndrome is the leading known cause of mental retardation
THE COST
Alcohol and drug abuse costs the American economy an estimated $276 billion per year in lost productivity, health care expenditures, crime, motor vehicle crashes and other conditions. 10
Untreated addiction is more expensive than heart disease, diabetes and cancer combined.
Every American adult pays nearly $1,000 per year for the damages of addiction.
ALcoholism and Drug Dependence Are America’s Number One Health Problem
The cost and consequences of alcoholism and drug dependence place an enormous burden on American society. As the nation’s number one health problem, addiction strains the health care system, the economy, harms family life and threatens public safety.
Substance abuse crosses all societal boundaries, affects both genders, every ethnic group, and people in every tax bracket. Scientific documentation defines alcoholism and drug dependence as a disease that has roots in both genetic susceptibility and personal behavior.
THE SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM
There are more deaths and disabilities each year in the U.S. from substance abuse than from any other cause. 1
About 18 million Americans have alcohol problems; about 5 to 6 million Americans have drug problems. 2
More than half of all adults have a family history of alcoholism or problem drinking. 3
More than nine million children live with a parent dependent on alcohol and/or illicit drugs. 4
ALCOHOL is the MAIN CULPRIT…………