Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Over 250,000 People Killed By Guns Worldwide Each Year: 'This Constitutes A Major Public Health Problem For Humanity'
The Associated Press: Worldwide Gun Deaths Reach 250,000 Yearly; US Ranks High
Gun deaths worldwide total about 250,000 yearly and the United States is among just six countries that make up half of those fatalities, a study found. The results from one of the most comprehensive analyses of firearm deaths reveal "a major public health problem for humanity," according to an editorial published with the study Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. (Tanner, 8/28)
Los Angeles Times: In Some Countries, The Odds Of Getting Shot Are 1 In A Million. In The U.S., It's 100 Times Higher
Imagine that, in the course of a single year, a ubiquitous household item was implicated in the death of every man, woman and child in the city of Glendale, Ariz., America’s 87th largest city with a population of 251,269. The world would almost certainly take notice of such a loss. That, in essence, was the global toll of humanity’s obsession with firearms. (Healy, 8/29)
PBS NewsHour: There’s A New Global Ranking Of Gun Deaths. Here’s Where The U.S. Stands
Overall, 64 percent of deaths were determined to be homicides, while an additional 27 percent were suicides and 9 percent were accidental shootings. But country to country, looking at the ways people die due to gunfire produces a deeply varied picture, said Christopher Murray, the institute’s director. When it comes to the number of gun-related homicides, the U.S. ranks 30th worldwide. But suicides linked to guns occurred in the U.S. at a rate of 6.4 per 100,000 deaths — a total of 23,800 people — the second highest rate worldwide. (Santhanam, 8/28)
