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I would like to clarify a couple of things before I continue. First, I don't smoke cigarettes, and second, being from the Northwest, I like one or two micro-brew ales now and then. Two is my limit or it impairs my judgement. I am also a member of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. These are my choices to make... you make yours.
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Before the forum, we had the guest book. I couldn't bring myself to delete the whole thing, there was just too much valuable information there. Though you can no longer sign the guest book, you can still read it. I'm sure you will find it informative.
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Is this issue about smoking, or control? Please read the following information to educate yourself, or to help you educate others.
Hazards of Alcohol
In 1996:
•17,126 people were killed in crashes involving alcohol in the United States -- an average of one every 32 minutes. These deaths constituted approximately 41% of the total 41,907 traffic fatalities. (NHTSA, 1997)
•In 1995, 17,274 persons were killed in alcohol-related crashes. These deaths were 41.3% of the 41,798 total traffic fatalities and represented the first rise in alcohol-related traffic fatalities in a decade. (NHTSA, 1996)
•1996 also marked an alarming new and deadly trend among youth. Last year, alcohol-related traffic deaths among youth ages 15-20 increased for the first time in seven years from 2,206 in 1995 to 2,315 in 1996.
•The number of alcohol related traffic fatalities involving youth ages 15-20 with high blood alcohol levels increased. This supports reported increases in binge drinking.
•Almost one quarter (or 3,732) of the total number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities involved drivers at BAC levels under .10 -- the legal limit in 34 states.
•About 1,058,990 were injured in alcohol-related crashes - an average of one person injured approximately every 30 seconds. About 30,000 people a year will suffer permanent work-related disabilities. (Miller et al, 1996b)
•Every weekday night from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m., one in 13 drivers is drunk (BAC of .08 or more). Between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. on weekend mornings, one in seven drivers is drunk. (Miller et al., 1996c)
•The 17,274 alcohol-related traffic fatalities in 1995 represent a 24 percent reduction from the 22,715 alcohol-related fatalities reported in 1985. (NHTSA, 1996)
•About two in every five Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some time in their lives. (NHTSA,1996)
•Economic costs of alcohol-related crashes are estimated to be \\$45 billion yearly. An additional $70.5 billion is lost in quality of life due to these crashes. (Miller et al, 1996b)
•The rate of alcohol involvement in fatal crashes is three and one-third times as high at night than as during the day. For all crashes, the alcohol involvement rate is nearly five times as high at night. (Miller et al, 1996)
•During the period 1982 through 1995, approximately 300,274 persons lost their lives in alcohol- related traffic crashes. (NHTSA, 1996)
•In the past decade, four times as many Americans died in drunk driving crashes as were killed in the Vietnam War. (NHTSA, 1995)
•Drunk driving is the nation's most frequently committed violent crime. (MADD, 1996)
Unscientific Smoking Studdies
How epidemiology applies to ETS
Following are explanatory quotes from leading scientists:
" In epidemiologic research, relative risks of less than 2 are considered small and are usually difficult to interpret. Such increases may be due to chance, statistical bias, or the effects of confounding factors that are sometimes not evident." ( Press release, U.S. National Cancer Institute, Oct. 1994)
" Small associations below 2.0 may be beyond the limits of reliable epidemiological inference." (J. Peto, 1992, IARC)