By now, you may have seen the announcement regarding hot dogs, bacon, and red meat in general, an announcement that these food items could be responsible for up to 44,000 deaths a year, worldwide, primarily due to the fact these items are considered carcinogenic. The announcement did not provide any further background on this item, nor did it contain any suggestions as to what governments could due to reduce this death toll. However, based on how governments have reacted in the past, I think it’s fair to assume that producers of these food products will be required to label their products with a warning about the carcinogenic properties of the food.
While 44,000 sounds like a very high number, some quick research indicated that approximately 100 million people die each year, worldwide, from a wide variety of causes, so this death toll from red meat represents less than one tenth of one per cent of the total planetary death toll. This triggered me to begin wondering what were the other causes of this massive death toll, and as research usually does, a surprising fact emerged.
This surprise (announced in a 2014 Congressional report) estimated that 440,000 Americans die each year due to medical errors in hospitals. Now keep in mind that our “hot dog” death toll is 44,000, worldwide, while medical errors are not only ten times higher, these 440,000 deaths were the total for just the U.S.A. In fact, the results caused one American senator to announce: “Medical Mistakes are the Third Leading Cause of Death for Americans.”
Now, if you “Google” the leading causes of death, you’ll be told the top 10 are as follows:
1. Heart Disease
2. Cancer
3. Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease
4. Accidents
5. Strokes
6. Alzheimer’s Disease
7. Diabetes
8. Influenza and Pneumonia
9. Kidney Disease
10. Suicide
However, cause No. 3 (Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease) claims 149,000 lives a year, so the death toll from medical mistakes, at 440,000, does appear to lay claim to position No. 3, and, in fact, is only a few thousand deaths away from jumping into second place.
While the medical profession has always been quick to jump on any issue they perceive as dangerous to human life, and I applaud them for this commitment, they have obviously been very reluctant to warn patients about this major threat to their lives. I can understand their caution, but the numbers speak for themselves, and I believe we have to enact legislation to label all hospital entrances and admission documents with a clear message: “Warning: entering or using this hospital could be dangerous to your health.” Even further, I think every medical professional, including doctors, nurses, dentists, administrative and housekeeping personnel (to name just a few) need to wear a badge that warns patients that “listening to this individual and following their instructions could be hazardous to your health.” Otherwise, I think all of these health professionals face real legal liability for not warning their patients, now that they are aware of the potential danger these same patients are facing.
Brian McLeod is a long-time resident of St. Albert.
