Food for Thought on Life Expectancy, Smoking, Chemicals

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(13 September 2007) The latest life expectancy report from the National Center for Health Statistics in the United States provides, if anything new, an interesting revelation in contrasts for the culture most obsessed with health advertisments, anti-smoking campaigns, and adoration of the young and beautiful.

Another contradiction for the "obsessed in the U.S." is that this nation is considered body-weight heavy. Whether being a fat nation is a result of over-eating, compulsive disorders, or simply from the individual's reaction to "government approved chemicals" added to food --until someone takes on those chemical giants lobbying the White House-- the answer remains a mystery.



Read the story anti-smoking advocates hope you ignore.

The life expectancy from birth in the United States is 37 countries down from the top of the list compiled by the United Nations, and 40 down on the list of all nations. Compared with those other nations the United States has fewer number of smokers in the population average with the exception of Singapore and Sweden.

While it is clear that men confirm higher rates of smoking prevalence than women -- whether women outlive men as a direct result of that point or not is unclear. Across all cultures the rate of smoking prevalence decreases with age anyway, but men --by nature-- in these cultures handle stress differently than women, which is a leading cause of other ailments.

Residents of the United States in particular may find other reasons for missing the mark on life expectancy of similar cultures. Maybe the nation as a whole could extend their life expectancy by taking a break, worrying less about making the employer (and shareholders) happy, and paying more attention to how one's body reacts to FDA approved chemicals in daily food intake.

Here is the list of how major countries play out for life expectancy rates against the prevalence of cigarette smoking.

Major countries/regions: Adult smoking prevalence for 18 years and up in 2003 or later using data compiled by the World Health Organization (WHO.) Life expectancy figures (from birth) provided by the United Nations in 2006/2007.
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Country Rank		Expectancy	Men	Women		Percentage of Smokers
No.1	Japan	83	79	86		Men 53%; Women 12%
No.2	Hong Kong	82	79	85		(China) Men 59%; Women 4%
No.4	Switzerland	82	79	84		Men 38%; Women 28%
No.5	Australia	81	79	84		Men 31%; Women 23%
No.6	Spain	81	78	84		Men 44%; Women 31%
No.7	Sweden	81	79	83		Men 21%; Women 25%
No.8	Israel	81	79	83		Men 36%; Women 20%
No.10	France	81	77	84		Men 43%; Women 34%
No.11	Canada	81	78	83		Men 30%; Women 27%
No.12	Italy	81	78	84		Men 38%; Women 30%
No.14	Norway	80	78	83		Men 40%; Women 39%
No.15	Singapore	80	78	82		Men 24%; Women 3%
No.16	Austria	80	77	83		Men 37%; Women 26%
No.17	Netherlands	80	78	82		Men 38%; Women 33%
No.19	Greece	80	77	82		Men 54%; Women 34%
No.20	Belgium	79	77	82		Men 33%; Women 24%
No.22	United Kingdom	79	77	82		Men 35%; Women 34%
No.23	Germany	79	77	82		Men 39%; Women 31%
No.29	Ireland	79	77	81		Men 34%; Women 27%
No.34	South Korea	79	75	82		Men 70%; Women 5%
No.37	Cuba	78	76	80		Men 49%; Women 27%
No.38	United States	78	76	81		Men 28%; Women 22%
No.39	Portugal	78	75	81		Men 44%; Women 20%
No.48	Mexico	76	74	79		Men 37%; Women 14%
No.56	Poland	76	71	80		Men 52%; Women 28%
No.59	Argentina	75	72	79		Men 32%; Women 19%
No.78	Hungary	73	69	77		Men 47%; Women 28%
No.86	Saudi Arabia	73	71	75		Men 29%; Women 1%
No.137	Russia	66	59	73		Men 58%; Women 16%



The United States attributed an increase in life expectancy rates to a decrease in death from diseases of the heart (how poetic) and from strokes (the two leading causes of death -- stress related.)

The report concluded too an increase in the infant mortality rate, from 6.8 per 1,000 live births in 2004 to 6.9 in 2005.

In 2005 approximately 2.5 million died in the United States, up 2 percent from the year before. The United States has about 300 million residents.






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