While it was somewhat mind-blowing to learn that more than 30,000 people per year are killed by guns in the United States, it was even more amazing to learn how many people die from other preventable causes.
For example, did you know that over 37,000 people die in road crashes each year in the USA?
An additional 2.35 million people are injured or disabled from motor vehicle collisions.
Or what about alcohol related deaths? 88,000 people die from alcohol related causes annually in the USA.
And then the really big one – more than 480,000 deaths annually in the USA from smoking related causes. That is nearly half a million people a year dying from smoking!
Of course you might say they “chose” to smoke.
Well the 41,000 people who died from exposure to secondhand smoke didn’t “choose” to die from smoking related activities.
Yes it is awful to think that more than 30,000 people die every year from gun violence in the USA.
However, why are people not calling for “smoking” reforms or more strict control of alcohol or how motor vehicles are operated? Where is the outrage for the 41,000 people who died as a result of second hand smoke?
Just something to ponder.