MarkR: “The interesting thing is that Canadians that move to the USA and live there their entire lives also live longer than the average American. So it is quite possible that the healthcare system isn’t what is determining this outcome.”
Would you happen to have a source for that? I’m not questioning it but I do have a family (daughter, SIL and three grandsons) living in the Bay area (Orinda) who might be interested? All of them are very fit and her employer’s Healthcare coverage is “the Best”.
Of course there is always more than one factor for longevity. When smoking first became targeted due to health concerns and medical costs taxes on cigarettes rose dramatically and places where you could smoke legally declined.
From 1997 to 2010, according to the Non-Smokers Rights Association, the average cost of a carton of cigarettes in Canada rose by 122% to $89.98. Warnings on packages have gotten much more direct and graphic and in many cases, cigarettes cannot be displayed in stores. Smokers are finding there are more restrictions on where they can puff. Massive amounts have been spent on education. The Canadian Centre for Substance Abuse estimates that tobacco cost the country $17.1 billion in 2002 and the Heart and Stroke Foundation notes there are over 37,000 needless deaths per year from tobacco
Availability and ownership of guns vastly different stats. It wasn’t that we couldn’t own guns, more that is was very inconvenient to follow the rules of gun ownership especially if there were children in the household. I got rid of mine when the alternative was to build a lockable cabinet to hold them. With military posting ~ every four years it simply wasn’t worth it. Almost nobody I know owns private guns anymore.
I’m sure there are others?
Tim