Christine,
My, but you do have a way with words! <vbg> Please reread my post to which you refer. I believe I said something to the effect that these statistics (53,000 deaths per year) include anyone and everyone who had ever smoked or been exposed to second-hand smoke, no matter how minor and no matter how remotely in the past that exposure. In other words, in arriving at this number of 53,000, any exposure is being considered as a primary cause of death. Never mind what actually killed them, they were once exposed to smoke--case closed. To base statistics on anectotal miscellany does not constitute hard, scientific evidence; yet, it is being presented as such. Other questions that need to be asked include: What percentage of this 53,000 actually underwent autopsy to determine a cause of death? What other medical liabilities did this patient carry that could logically supersede exposure to smoke as a primary cause of death?
Case in point: A colleague of mine smoked one cigarette after lunch and dinner for only about a year, over twenty years ago. A few years ago she had occasion to see a physician. On leading questioning, she apprised him of this very casual and very remote smoking history. This physician immediately documented her as a former smoker. Her numbers are legion; she is not an isolated case in this utterly skewed contribution to the statistics.
I think perhaps in telling you of this incident you will begin to connect the dots in the witch hunt and managed care puzzle. Wanna play some more?
Holly |
