The US alcohol consumption avg. is 2.51 gallons, or 9.5 litres per person and year. In the EU the average is also 9.5 litres per person and year. For drug abuse i know the US have the specific opiod problem, but that also seems to be a result of a poor healthcare system, where taking painkillers until addiction is chosen over actually solving the underlying injuries for monetary reasons.
The suicide rate obviously has multiple contributing factors, but access to firearms is absolutely one of them. There’s multiple studies on this that will come up in a quick web search. In general, access to anything that makes suicide more impulsive increases the suicide rate. I say this as a person who absolutely believes that access to firearms should be the default state for those that want it.
This is a myth. The suicide rate in Japan is lower than the US, and similar to European countries. South Africa, Russia, and Korea have bonkers suicide rates.
Opportunity and desire both contribute to rate. Firearms increase opportunity so more of those with desire will try. Some cultures also give more people the desire so more attempts will be made using other methods. It is not either or.
Access to firearms increases the rate of suicide. He may have worded it poorly but the point stands. The fact that other countries have worse rates of suicide without firearms notwithstanding, because if they had access to firearms, it would be even higher.
Don’t underrate the amount of walking Europeans do compared to Americans. That casual exercise makes a huge difference. Europe is much more urban than the US and they generally walk a lot more than we do.
As pointed out, guns are a means to suicide, not the cause. While I do believe in gun control, until we have physician assisted suicide, guns are some of the most reliable ways for people to have a say in when their life ends.
Take away the guns(the this specific circumstance, not talking about other gun related issues) and the suicide rate will maybe go down, but the rate of unsuccessful, excruciating, and possibly disfiguring/disabling suicide attempts will absolutely go up.
About point 4, there is this really weird phenomenon that people going one way or the other replicate the same results without consciously changing the way you eat. Americans eating “unhealthy” in Europe get better and Europeans “eating healthy” in the US get worse.
Universal healthcare might help but it is also–
Is alcohol abuse more prevalent in the US?
The US alcohol consumption avg. is 2.51 gallons, or 9.5 litres per person and year. In the EU the average is also 9.5 litres per person and year. For drug abuse i know the US have the specific opiod problem, but that also seems to be a result of a poor healthcare system, where taking painkillers until addiction is chosen over actually solving the underlying injuries for monetary reasons.
Point 3 is just wrong.
Japanese don’t have easy access to guns and yet Japan has one of the highest suicide rates.
Same with Uruguay, highest suicide rate in America without having easy access to guns.
The suicide rate obviously has multiple contributing factors, but access to firearms is absolutely one of them. There’s multiple studies on this that will come up in a quick web search. In general, access to anything that makes suicide more impulsive increases the suicide rate. I say this as a person who absolutely believes that access to firearms should be the default state for those that want it.
This is a myth. The suicide rate in Japan is lower than the US, and similar to European countries. South Africa, Russia, and Korea have bonkers suicide rates.
Opportunity and desire both contribute to rate. Firearms increase opportunity so more of those with desire will try. Some cultures also give more people the desire so more attempts will be made using other methods. It is not either or.
Access to firearms increases the rate of suicide. He may have worded it poorly but the point stands. The fact that other countries have worse rates of suicide without firearms notwithstanding, because if they had access to firearms, it would be even higher.
Plus less stress due to a culture that values family and recreation time.
Don’t underrate the amount of walking Europeans do compared to Americans. That casual exercise makes a huge difference. Europe is much more urban than the US and they generally walk a lot more than we do.
The Gym of Life
Not saying it’s enough to be in the best shape of your life but it’s really good for you.
As pointed out, guns are a means to suicide, not the cause. While I do believe in gun control, until we have physician assisted suicide, guns are some of the most reliable ways for people to have a say in when their life ends.
Take away the guns(the this specific circumstance, not talking about other gun related issues) and the suicide rate will maybe go down, but the rate of unsuccessful, excruciating, and possibly disfiguring/disabling suicide attempts will absolutely go up.
About point 4, there is this really weird phenomenon that people going one way or the other replicate the same results without consciously changing the way you eat. Americans eating “unhealthy” in Europe get better and Europeans “eating healthy” in the US get worse.