
In EU, 1 in 8 deaths linked to pollution - elorant
https://phys.org/news/2020-09-eu-deaths-linked-pollution.html
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easytiger
Awful article. But anyway...

> In EU, 1 in 8 deaths linked to pollution

This claim based on a single quote in this paper, neither linked nor cited to
the direct section

[https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/healthy-
environment-h...](https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/healthy-environment-
healthy-lives)

The article derives the headline statistic from this quote which is infact
from another document:

> We are exposed to pollution in our homes, in our workplaces, in the outdoor
> environment and when we eat, play, sleep, drive, walk, swim or run. In 2012,
> 13 % of all deaths in the EU were attributable to the environment (WHO,
> 2016a).

WHO, 2016a being this: [https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/15-03-2016-an-
estimated...](https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/15-03-2016-an-
estimated-12-6-million-deaths-each-year-are-attributable-to-unhealthy-
environments)

The nature of the deaths at the top of the list they cite as wholly explicable
by environmental factors is

    
    
        -Stroke – 2.5 million deaths annually
    
        -Ischaemic heart disease – 2.3 million deaths annually
    
        -Unintentional injuries (such as road traffic deaths) – 1.7 million deaths annually
    
        -Cancers – 1.7 million deaths annually
    
        -Chronic respiratory diseases – 1.4 million deaths annually
    

Which are infact almost largely related to lifestyle and obesity more so than
anything else, with obvious exceptions.

This is just another pamphlet of spurious correlations designed to push policy
in a certain direction with no regard for science or reality.

