How Scared Should We Be?

"Self-Terrorization Is The National Pastime"

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2014/10/tom-toles-cartoon-self-terrorization-is.html

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2014/11/self-terrorization-cornerstone-of.html

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2014/06/uncle-sams-advice-for-superpatriots.html

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2011/10/self-terrorization-national-pastime.html

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2012/05/national-pastime-self-terrorization.html

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2013/02/faulty-risk-assessment-and-epidemic.html

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2013/04/americas-national-pastime-is-self.html

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2014/11/jenny-mccarthy-americas-poster-girl-for.html

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2014/11/self-terrorization-cornerstone-of.html

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-gop-campaign-message-be-afraid.html

"Ebola Represents A Trivial Threat To Americans' Health"

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2014/10/ebola-presents-trivial-threat-to.html

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"Shark Attacks Rise Worldwide: Risk Assessment and Aquinas' Criteria For Sin"

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2012/02/shark-attacks-rise-worldwide-risk.html

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"The Death Of Epistemology"

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2012/09/are-polls-skewed-death-of-epistemology.html

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How Scared Should We Be?

By TARA PARKER-POPE

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/how-scared-should-we-be/

Shark attacks, raging fires and deadly bacteria all sound scary. But how do you know which calamities to worry about and which to ignore?

Everyone moves through life with different risks. Your own need to worry depends on a variety of factors, including age, where you live, how much you travel and your daily activities, noted Dr. James K. Hammitt, professor of economics at the Harvard School of Public Health. Consider this: it’s estimated that 150 people around the world die annually fromfalling coconuts. That’s more than double the estimated 62 annual shark attacks worldwide. But if you’re a person who regularly swims in shark-infested waters and you never stand under a coconut tree, then the average odds obviously don’t apply to you.

Take a look at the following chart, which we’ve put together from a variety of sources. It shows the total number of deaths annually due to various disease-related and accidental causes, as well as an average individual’s lifetime risk for a given health worry. On the scariest day of the year, maybe this will help put it all in perspective.

Risk	Annual Deaths	Lifetime risk
Heart disease	652,486	1 in 5
Cancer	553,888	1 in 7
Stroke	150,074	1 in 24
Hospital infections	99,000	1 in 38
Flu	45,000	1 in 83
Car accidents	44,757	1 in 84
Suicide	31,484	1 in 119
Accidental poisoning	19,456	1 in 193
MRSA (resistant bacteria)	19,000	1 in 197
Falls	17,229	1 in 218
Drowning	3,306	1 in 1,134
Bike accident	762	1 in 4,919
Air/space accident	742	1 in 5,051
Excessive cold	620	1 in 6,045
Sun/heat exposure	273	1 in 13,729
Shark attack*	62	1 in 60,453
Lightning	47	1 in 79, 746
Train crash	24	1 in 156,169
Fireworks	11	1 in 340,733

Sources: Unless otherwise noted, all accidental death information fromNational Safety Council. Disease death information from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Lifetime risk is calculated by dividing 2003 population (290,850,005) by the number of deaths, divided by 77.6, the life expectancy of a person born in 2003. *Shark data represents number of attacks worldwide, not deaths.