Study finds link between insurance type & treatment for patients of stroke

insurance type & treatment for patients of stroke

University of Florida researchers have found a correlation between Medicare and patient access to surgical treatment for subarachnoid hemorrhage, a type of stroke that affects as many as 30,000 Americans each year - often causing death or long-term impairment and disability. For patients who have suffered this type of stroke, surgical intervention can spell the difference between recovery or long-term disability and death, life insurance yet patients on Medicare are less likely than those with private insurance to be referred for surgical treatment, according to findings published in the journal PLOS ONE. This may represent a conscious or unconscious bias against Medicare patients, who are typically older and have preexisting disabilities or chronic illnesses, said Azra Bihorac, M.D., senior author of the study and an associate professor of anesthesiology, medicine and surgery at the UF College of Medicine. "Not every hospital has skilled neurosurgeons who specialize in subarachnoid hemorrhage," Bihorac said. "If these hospitals don't have the necessary expertise, then they may actually overestimate the risk of a bad prognosis. They may assume that the patient won't do well anyway, so they won't proceed with surgery." For the study, the researchers analyzed data from the National Inpatient Sample hospital discharge database. The data includes information on more than 21,000 adult patients discharged from 2003 to 2008 with a diagnosis of subarachnoid hemorrhage. Approximately 62 percent of the sample was female and the mean age was 59 years - younger than is typical with other types of stroke. Compared with privately insured patients, life insurance

Medicare patients were almost 45 percent less likely to undergo surgical treatment and were more than twice as likely to die in the hospital. This may be because Medicare patients tend to be older or have additional health issues, said lead author Charles Hobson, M.D., M.H.A., a surgical critical care specialist at the Malcom Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center and a doctoral candidate in the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions. "It's not that you don't get surgery because you have Medicare - your doctor isn't checking your life insurance," he said. "But having Medicare as primary health insurance may be a proxy for bias against the elderly and those with chronic illnesses." Subarachnoid hemorrhage accounts for 5 percent of all strokes, according to the American Heart Association. It occurs when there is bleeding in the area between the brain and the thin tissues that cover the brain, most often caused by an aneurysm. The condition causes sudden, severe head pain and must be treated immediately to prevent brain injury, disability and death. Risk factors include a family history of aneurysms, high blood pressure and smoking. Approximately 10 to 15 percent of these patients die before reaching the hospital. For those who survive, the next 48 hours are critical, Bihorac said. During this time, the main goal of the treatment team is to stop the patient from re-bleeding, a repeated rupture in the same location of the aneurysm and the leading cause of death in people who survive the initial hemorrhage. A combination of early interventions including medications to lower a patient's blood pressure can help reduce the chance of re-bleeding, but surgical treatment to repair the aneurysm has been shown to decrease both illness and death life insurance after subarachnoid hemorrhage, Hobson said. The study found that patients who did not undergo surgical treatment were twice as likely to die than those who did have surgery. In addition, patients who survived the first 48 hours without surgery had a greater risk of developing a severe disability or cognitive impairment. However, only about one third of all subarachnoid hemorrhage patients in the United States actually receive some form of surgical treatment. "Surgery is valuable - really, essential - if you're going to have a good outcome," Hobson said. "But we've found that if there are two people who are otherwise the same, but one is either elderly or has chronic illness or disability, he or she is less likely to undergo surgery." While the researchers believe there is a bias regarding these patients, two-thirds of all people treated for subarachnoid hemorrhage do not receive surgical treatment to repair the aneurysm. One contributing factor is the small percentage of patients who bleed without having an aneurysm, but this alone does not explain the substantial number of people who go without surgical treatment, Bihorac said. She believes that one reason for this is a lack of standard of care for subarachnoid hemorrhage. "A lot of things are left up to the subjective assessment of the provider who first sees the patient," Bihorac said. "Each provider has his or her own biases. They can be rational, they can be made from past experience - but these biases do interfere." This bias is of particular concern if a patient seeks treatment at a hospital that only sees a few subarachnoid hemorrhage cases each year or is without the necessary diagnostic tests or specialists in place, she said. Indeed, the study found that patients treated at teaching hospitals, as well as hospitals that see a high volume of subarachnoid hemorrhage patients, were more likely to undergo surgical treatment. A potential solution for the discrepancy would be for state government to enforce regionalized care for subarachnoid hemorrhage, as is currently standard for certain trauma and neonatal issues, Hobson said. "Despite the improvements in care over the last 10 years in subarachnoid hemorrhage, the percent of people not receiving surgery is unchanged - which is another argument for dealing with this issue on a systemic level, not an individual provider level," he said. "With regionalized care, life insurance the moment an ER doc sees a bleed, it would trigger a system - 'OK, this patient needs to go to a place where the experts can decide whether or not he needs surgery.' The clock is ticking." 

News Source :  www.medicalnewstoday.com

Turkey for Growing Private Pensions scheme has more room to expand

   Turkey for Growing private pensions scheme

Participation in Turkey's Private Pensions scheme has risen over the first four months of 2014, compared to the same period last year, according to data from MetLife Turkey. Mr Deniz Yurtseven, general manager of MetLife Turkey, said that the amount of funds of participants increased to nearly TRY30 billion (US$14.2 billion) at the end of April from TRY26.3 billion a year ago, reported Turkish Press. Turkey’s private pensions scheme was launched in October 2003. In recent years, the sector has attracted several foreign players. At present, under the private pensions scheme, the government contributes 25% of the pension to participants every month. "Turkey’s private pensions system has huge potential," said Mr Yurtseven. "The 25% state contribution will continue for the remainder of this year, and the system will grow steadily." The total number of participants in the private pensions scheme reached 4,520,515 as at 9 May this year. However, experts say that this reflects very limited participation in the system in a country of 76.5 million people. At present, most private pension fund firms are owned wholly or partly by foreign insurance groups, such as Groupama, ING, Aegon, Ergo Isviçre, MetLife and Avivasa. There were 18 private pension fund companies in the country as at 9 May. However, in terms of assets under management, the leading company is Turkish-owned Anadolu Hayat Emeklilik with TRY5.6 billion, followed by Avivasa with TRY5.4 billion. Nearly a third of pension policy holders in the system are residents of Istanbul which is the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. Istanbul is followed by capital Ankara with 9.3%, Izmir with 7.6% and Antalya with 4.4%. A vast majority, or nearly 84%, of all pension plan participants in Turkey have a university degree. Nearly 35% of the private pension subscribers are between the ages of 25 and 34.

News Source :  www.meinsurancereview.com

Unlocking the doors to success in Sudan

Unlocking the doors to success in Sudan

Sudan’s Takaful industry is endeavouring to overcome the country’s economic and political challenges by responding innovatively to the community’s needs, while preserving the ethical values of takaful. By Osama Noor Takaful in Sudan continues to be the most genuine and acceptable Islamic insurance experience which is consistent with Shariah principles, said Mr Salah Eldeen Musa Mohamed, Managing Director of Shiekan Insurance and Reinsurance Co. “Total contributions have shown double-digit growth in the past three years and surpluses have been rewarding as well. This shows that takaful is a successful business model without jeopardising the ethical values of solidarity and cooperation.” In 2012, gross contributions grew by around 40% to about SDG1.3 billion (US$229 million) from SDG900 million in the preceding year. General lines account for about 96% of the market, with motor leading at around 40%. Operators have been actively tapping into new segments and innovating products, thereby helping to expand the market. However, inflation and the devaluation of the Sudanese pound have amplified the size of premiums in the past couple of years, said Mr Mohamed Abdin Babiker, General Manager of United Insurance Co (UIC). “The prices of various properties have been re-evaluated and rates have been adjusted to reflect the increase. This is especially for properties which have foreign materials because the pound has dropped against hard currencies.”

News Source :  www.meinsurancereview.com

Traveling employee slipped on dance floor wins Maryland for comp appeal

Traveling employee slipped on dance floor wins Maryland for comp appeal

A traveling employee insurance who slipped while dancing at a nightclub and injured his pelvis should receive workers compensation benefits, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals has ruled. Court records show Dallas E. Gravette worked as an audio visual technician for Visual Aids Electronics Corp., which provides audiovisual rental and staging services to hotels, resorts and convention and conference facilities. The Germantown, Maryland-based company asked Mr. Gravette to travel from his home in Idaho to the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland for work in July 2011. He was injured around midnight on July 10 when he slipped and fell while dancing at the Pose Ultra Lounge & Nightclub located on the premises of the resort, records show. There was no indication that Mr. Gravette was intoxicated at that time.  Insurance The Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission and the Prince George’s County, Maryland Circuit Court rejected Mr. Gravette’s request for workers comp benefits. A trial judge for the circuit court found that, unlike eating and bathing, dancing at a nightclub wasn’t “reasonably incidental to the travel required by the employer,” according to records. A three-judge panel of the Maryland Special Court of Appeals unanimously reversed that ruling Tuesday. They noted similar cases in which injuries suffered during “reasonable and foreseeable” recreational activities were deemed compensable. Because Mr. Gravette’s dancing took place on the premises of his hotel, and it was not considered to be dangerous or out of the ordinary, the appeals court ruled he’s entitled to benefits. The lower court’s judgment was reversed, and the case was remanded to the Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission.

News Source :  www.businessinsurance.com

US curbs flood premium increases for 2014

 US curbs flood premium increases for 2014

Moves to match US flood cover pricing to risk have hit a setback, with the Senate passing legislation to curb premium rises under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Premiums in some flood-prone areas soared under the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, when insurance under the NFIP began to be priced to risk. Property values fell and there were fears insurance costs could choke economic development in areas such as Louisiana and Florida. The new Homeowner Insurance Affordability Act sets ceilings on premium increases. It restores “grandfathering” of policies in areas with new flood maps and reinstates subsidies for some properties that are bought and sold. The Biggert-Waters Act was intended to address the NFIP debt and discourage development in flood-prone areas. The Property and Casualty Insurers Association of America has praised the new legislation for addressing “unintended consequences” of the Biggert-Waters Act.

News Source :  www.insurancenews.com.au

Waves of problems for Flood Insurance

Waves of problems for Flood Insurance 

Flood Insurance Waves of problems New proposals to reform subsidised flood insurance do too little to reduce risk Mar 8th 2014 | CHERTSEY | From the print edition Timekeeper The beauty of risk pooling AT FIRST glance, Foxglove Mead in Chertsey looks like any other housing estate being built in Britain. As many as 98 homes, some worth £600,000 ($1m), are planned. But step onto the show-home’s newly laid lawn, where your correspondent felt his feet sink into the waterlogged soil, and questions over the suitability of this site become clear: these buildings are in an area at high risk of flooding. Pools of water from floods that last month inundated nearby houses (see picture) still cover neighbouring meadows. Sadly, this is but one of many new residential developments going up on floodplains and tide-swept coasts around the world: 21% of new homes built in London since 2010 are in high-risk areas. Instead of discouraging the building of flood-prone houses, governments are unwittingly encouraging homeowners to flush money down the drain. In this section Injured island Revolutionary fervour The times they aren’t a-changin’ Not so sunny Waves of problems Bank, fix thyself In a fix,

Global insurance 2014 outlook scenario

Global insurance 2014

In 2014, the global Insurance industry is finally emerging from the combination of financial turmoil and economic uncertainty that has challenged international property-casualty and life-annuity insurance companies for the last several years.” Shaun Crawford, Global Insurance Leader As the global insurance industry emerges from this challenging time, there are clear signs of rising opportunity for international property-casualty and life-annuity insurance companies. Still, complex challenges lay ahead, resulting in the prospect of slim profit margins in 2014 and fueling the need for greater customer-centricity across operations. The headlines from our 2014 Global Insurance outlook recap the industry’s most compelling storylines: Rising individual wealth and aging populations are emerging as enticing areas of product expansion and revenue growth in Asia Specific niches in Latin America are seeing substantial growth potential Capital positions for carriers in Europe and North America are rebuilding Looking on the risk side of the equation, global insurance executives are challenged by the protractedly low interest rate environment and an often confounding array of stringent international and national regulations.

Zurich Insurance Up to 800 to Save $250 Million

Zurich Insurance

Zurich Insurance Group AG (ZURN), the biggest Swiss insurer, plans to save $250 million annually by cutting as many as 800 jobs after lowering its profit goal in December, the company said. Zurich plans to remove management layers between the headquarters and the individual business units to reduce costs, the insurer said in a statement today. The company said it would achieve the savings by the end of 2015. The company’s fourth-quarter profit was below analysts’ estimates because of $600 million of reorganization costs. In December, Zurich said George Quinn will take over as chief financial officer in April, leaving his current position as Swiss Re’s CFO. He will replace Pierre Wauthier, who committed suicide in August. “We continue to make significant progress toward our strategic goal to make Zurich a focused and more profitable business,” Chief Executive Officer Martin Senn said in the statement.

Home insurance for cost campaign strikes a nerve

 Home insurance

AUSTRALIANS fed up with home insurance premiums doubling in just five years are demanding a better deal. More than 21,000 people have signed up to the News Corp Australia MoneysaverHQ initiative in less than three days, joining the fight for lower cost insurance deals. Together with consumer movement One Big Switch they are on the hunt for a better home and contents insurance deal. One Big Switch spokesman Joel Gibson said the huge response to the campaign indicated consumers had enough of being gouged by policy price hikes. “The numbers show we have hit a nerve. Consumers were waiting for this campaign and for someone to do something about home and contents insurance premiums,’’ he said. “It confirms our suspicions that this was a bill that was really starting to hurt people. “It’s similar to what happened with electricity a few years ago.

NAYAN JEEVAN MICRO INSURANCE FOR THE URBAN POOR

NAYAN JEEVAN MICRO INSURANCE

NAYA JEEVAN® is a not-for-profit social enterprise that is dedicated to rejuvenating the lives of low-income families throughout the emerging world by providing them with affordable access to quality, catastrophic healthcare. Naya Jeevan offers its insurance program in Pakistan at subsidized rates under a novel national group health insurance model (underwritten by Allianz-EFU, IGI, Saudi Pak and Insurance,. At Naya Jeevan we work in collaboration with corporate, academic, and non-profit institutions so that we can catalyze a new wave of social responsibility that can be leveraged to realize a positive sustainable outcome for all stakeholders. We believe that philanthropy should not be a transient, ad-hoc event but be institutionalized as a fully integrated part of our society.

9th Asia Conference on Healthcare and Health Insurance (24-25 March, 2014)

9th Asia Conference on Healthcare and Health Insurance

With the ageing population and governments trying to get individuals to be more responsible for their healthcare, there is great potential for the private medical services and schemes. And both users of expensive innovative health services and healthcare providers look to insurers for partnership. Will insurers be able to rise to the challenge? Will they be able to tread the minefields in health insurance with dignity and improved underwriting results despite the runaway medical inflation making cutting edge technology available to all? Will insurers be ready to take on the role of making it affordable to all? Is that too big a risk? Where are the markers? What should the parameters be? And can reinsurers play a bigger role in healthcare to make product coverage more extensive? There is a need for collective effort among health professionals, government officials, healthcare providers, and insurers and reinsurers, brokers and Third Party Administrators to come together to forge the way ahead even if it means making health insurance compulsory or more selective. As demand for health insurance is hot and there are too many exclusions involved while fraudsters are rising, the insurance industry needs to come together to lick this problem to boost the image of insurance altogether. Opportunities are plenty for insurers and providers in the healthcare sector with huge potential for growth and profitability. Can the Governments do more to ensure that healthcare schemes are sensible and accessible to all? This 9th Healthcare conference organized by Asia Insurance Review has the theme: “Wealth in Health for Insurers” sub-text: Adding Value through Efficient Delivery of Cost-Effective Quality Healthcare for the long term. The two-day conference will tackle hot topics ranging from providing effective and quality healthcare for the masses to the more sophisticated high net worth segments and the silver generation as well as healthcare funding, regulatory requirements, improving health procedures and services and how to balance healthcare financing with underwriting, cost control and fraud. The conference will also provide an overview of the world-class health systems, trends and developments in Asia and the world as well as look at the strategies in implementing healthcare programmes with partners and TPAs, innovative products, technology in the medical field and creative distribution channels for healthcare.

News Source : www.asiainsurancereview.com

4th Middle East Conference on Bancassurance (16-17 April, 2014 Dubai,UAE)

4th Middle East Conference on Bancassurance

Bancassurance is a driving force in the insurance markets around the world including in the MENA region where banks are becoming more active in the insurance space. In the post-Global Financial Crisis, banks continue to hold sway over their customers and serve as a powerful channel for insurers to reach out to the man in the street. Given the growing power of banks in the region, Middle East Insurance Review is bringing back its Middle East Bancassurance Conference series after a four-year break to provide strategic tips to insurers to make better deals with banks in striking a bancassurance partnership. The 4th Middle East Bancassurance Conference will take stock of the latest developments, trends and regulations in MENA relating to bancassurance to offer strategies and solutions to find the perfect formula to make bancassurance a win-win for both banks and insurers. The two-day conference in Dubai will offer a comprehensive platform for sharing of local and global best practices; in-depth discussion on the dynamics of using bancassurance, alternative, and multiple distribution channels strategically; developing innovative products best suited to the channel; efficient and profitable partnerships between insurers and banks for the long-term; the need for seamless integration and effective communication & customer-centric strategies for success as well as exploiting technology and social media effectively. The 4th Middle East Bancassurance Conference will bring together leading regulators, insurers, reinsurers, banks, consultants, technology experts and service providers in the banking and insurance realms, to identify market growth strategies as well as successful models to maximise returns and profits.

News Source :  www.meinsurancereview.com

Diabetes New Drugs Approved by FDA in the World

Diabetes New Drug Approved by FDA

Jan. 9, 2014 -- A new pill to treat adults with type 2 diabetes has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Farxiga (dapaglifozin), the SGLT-2 inhibitor that was set to be co-marketed by Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca before BMS broke free of the partnership late last year, was given the nod for marketing today by the FDA. Life Insurance It's the second treatment of its kind available in the US behind Johnson & Johnson's Invokana (canagliflozin). SGLT-2 inhibitors offer HbA1c and weight control in one pill, differentiating them in the crowded field of diabetes treatments. Morningstar analyst Damien Conover forecast Farxiga annual sales reaching about $1.5 billion by 2018, reported Reuters. Last year AZ purchased the BMS portion of their diabetes joint venture, including full ownership of dapagliflozin and several other drugs, for $2.7 billion upfront and up to $1.4 billion in milestone payments, in addition to royalties. Dapagliflozin was poised to be first-in-class in the SGLT-2 category, but Invokana stole a march after an advisory committee voted down the drug in 2011 due to possible cancer and heart risks, leading to regulatory delays. Life Insurance An advisory panel gave it a thumbs-up this past December, after the companies showed the FDA more data. Wells Fargo analyst Lawrence Biegelsen forecast last year that Invokana would bring in $111 million in 2013, with a bump to $667 million in 2016, as reported by The New York Times, following its approval by the FDA on March 29, 2013. In its first quarter on the market, J&J saw "strong sales results" for the drug, the company said in a third-quarter SEC filing.

News Source :  www.mmm-online.com

Morocco Economy to grow by more than 4% in year 2014

Morocco: Economy to grow by more than 4% in 2014

The Moroccan economy is forecast to grow by 4.5 percent this year, but the number of corporate insolvencies could rise by 10 percent to more than 7,000 because of structural adjustments in public finance, according to Euler Hermes. In a report on the economic situation in Morocco,the insurer says that the country would benefit from the modest activity growth in the Euro zone in 2014, but warns of debt delinquency and business failure. “It would essentially be small and medium sized enterprises which will suffer the most,” said Mr Ludovic Subran, Euler Hermes' chief economist. Significant investments in infrastructure and transport have made Morocco a “champion in the Mediterranean”, says Mr Tawfik Benzakour, Euler Hermes ACMAR CEO. He added: “Morocco has invested heavily in upgrading its infrastructure. The next step is human and social capital investment to sustain the vibrancy of its growth momentum and position as the 'batal' (champion) of the Mediterranean.” He says that for further economic growth, Morocca needs to regularise the informal economy, provide investor protection and develops the credit market. At present, half of all transactions in the country are conducted in cash. Meanwhile, insurance penetration in Morocco, which is the second largest insurance market in Africa, reached 3.14 percent in 2012, according to the annual report of the Department of Insurance and Social Welfare. Total premiums grew by 8.9 percent to MAD25.84 billion (US$3.14 billion) in 2012 from MAD23.73 billion the previous year, according to the local media citing the report. In 2012, non-life business accounted for 66 percent, or MAD17.07 billion, of total premiums. Of this, motor business – which was the biggest non-life segment - accounted for MAD8.02 billion. Accident, health and maternity insurance was the second largest class of business with premiums of MAD2.94 billion. The life insurance sector reported total premiums of MAD8.77 billion in 2012, representing an increase of 14.7 percent over 2011. Reinsurance premiums stood at MAD187.68 million, of which MAD124.88 million was for non-life business with the remaining being life. There are 18 insurance companies in Morocco, including three cooperatives. There are also 1,600 insurance intermediaries in the country. Around a third of the intermediaries are established in the Grand-Casablanca administrative region, followed by 12 percent in Rabat-Zemmour-Zaër and 8.6 percent in Tanger-Tétouan. There are, in addition, more than 5,200 bank branches offering bancassurance services, with a strong concentration in Casablanca, Rabat and Oriental. 

News Source : www.meinsurancereview.com

Doha Insurance plans rights issue $120m

Doha Insurance plans $120m rights issue

Non-life insurer, Doha Insurance, has announced details of a long-awaited rights issue which would raise of QAR436.7 million (US$119.9 million) for the company. The move will nearly double its capital. The insurer announced earlier this week that it would seek shareholder approval next month for the capital increase, with the funds aimed at strengthening its ability to carry out business at home and abroad. It has received regulatory approval to issue 24,260,000 new shares to shareholders through a rights issue, it said in a bourse filing. A vote on the rights issue is expected to be held on 17 February, according to Reuters. The rights issue would increase the insurer's financial solvency and further improve its credit rating, which would allow it to compete for mega projects both locally and internationally, the insurer said. Qatar is in the midst of a building boom, with plans to spend as much as US$140 billion on infrastructure projects, including a new airport, stadiums, roads and railways, as it prepares to host the soccer World Cup in 2022.

News Sources :  www.meinsurancereview.com

U.A.E Insurance premium to rise bad for driversans

 UAE: Insurance premiums to rise for bad drivers

Several insurers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have begun charging motor insurance premiums based on drivers' traffic record, as they now have an electronic link to traffic departments via a portal called Markabty launched by the Ministry of Interior. This means that drivers, who have been involved in major accidents or have too many speeding tickets issued against their name, will have to pay higher premiums compared to those with safe driving records. The criteria that insurance companies used previously to determine motor premiums were the age of the driver, his profession, and the date he received his driving licence, among others. This sometimes resulted in an unfair advantage for older bad drivers at the expense of younger drivers who had committed no traffic violations. Executives at Emirates Insurance Association say that the Markabty link has been active since the end of last July, reports the Emirates 24/7 news website. Mr Saleh bin Rashid Al Dhaheri, chairman of Emirates Insurance Association, says that the mechanism will enable insurance companies to maximise profits in the auto insurance sector through a clear understanding of risks associated with bad drivers while at the same time, customers with clean traffic records will be rewarded with discounts on premiums. The discounts range from 20 percent to 35 percent, depending on the length of time the driver maintains a clean record. He says that the association aims to reduce the number of traffic accidents and promote safe driving.

News Source : www.meinsurancereview.com

50 years of tobacco extended lives of 8 million Americans

Loren Grush

In 1964, the U.S. surgeon general first came out with a report detailing the significant health risks associated with smoking cigarettes. Now, 50 years later, the report’s positive effects are still being felt in the United States. A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has concluded that the surgeon general’s report, along with various other tobacco control efforts, have significantly extended the lives of 8 million Americans – adding nearly 20 years to their life expectancy. “The 1964 report, in many ways, was a watershed event for public health,” senior author David Levy, a population scientist at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, told FoxNews.com. “By that time, sufficient evidence had accumulated to demonstrate that smoking cigarettes has a profoundly negative effect on an individual’s health. Following that publicity, a number of events occurred that really caused smokers to quit – taxes on cigarettes, smoke free air laws, bans on advertisements and health reporting.” In the 1960s, more than 40 percent of American adults smoked cigarettes, but now, only 20 percent of adults continue to smoke – a decrease Levy attributes to the surgeon general’s warning. To really gauge the magnitude of the report’s effects, Levy and his team analyzed smoking rates over the past 50 years, in relation to people’s ages, when they started smoking and other factors. The researchers found that since 1964, 17.6 million deaths could be attributed to smoking in the United States. Of this number, 6.6 million occurred in people below the age of 65, equaling a substantial loss due to death and illness among the working age group, Levy said. However, the team also used statistical modeling to determine what mortality rates would have looked like if the surgeon general’s report had never occurred and tobacco control efforts had never been utilized. They then compared these hypothetical death rates to the actual death rates, estimating that 157 million years of life were saved – translating to 19.6 additional years of life for each smoker who quit. “Many of the people that quit initially were younger people,” Levy said. “People usually quit in their 20s or 30s, or they quit later on in life when they experience severe health problems. But the reductions have occurred across the board. In particular there’s been much less association of smoking with the young.” While this is very positive news for the millions of smokers who quit, Levy said there is still a long way to go in order to save more lives. According to the annual cancer statistics report from the American Cancer Society, lung cancer remains the deadliest form of the disease – leading to one in four cancer deaths. Levy said it’s important to continue with tobacco control, since it has had such a substantial effect. He also noted that the rise of e-cigarettes could be beneficial in helping people quit, as long as smokers completely make the switch from regular cigarettes to the electronic kind. “Eight million have avoided death due to smoking, but we still have a substantial number of people who are dying from smoking,” Levy said. “…This is an example of an important public health event. This is something that also provides lessons concerned with trends in obesity; changing prices and educational campaigns can have an important effect.” The research was conducted by scientists at the Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network (CISNET) and was funded by the National Cancer Institute.

News Source : www.foxnews.com