Comparing Death Risks: Smoking vs. Driving in Terms of Distance

In summary, the question is asking how far one would have to drive in a car to have the same risk of death as smoking 20 cigarettes. The risk of dying from smoking 20 cigarettes per day is approximately 14 times higher than smoking 1.4 cigarettes per day. Therefore, the distance driven in the car must also be 14 times higher, which would be 700 km. However, this comparison of risk between smoking and driving is not accurate due to the cumulative effects of smoking on health.
  • #1
kirsten_2009
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2

Homework Statement


Hello All,

This question is from my chemistry and health section so it's not really too "chemistry-ish" but rather more mathematical I think. Thanks in advance!

Q:// Smoking 1.4 cigarettes per day carries a one in a million chance of death compared with driving 50 km by car. How far would you have to drive in your car to have the same risk of death as smoking one package of cigarettes (20 cigarettes)?

Homework Equations

The Attempt at a Solution




The risk of dying from smoking 20 cigarettes/day increases ~14 folds from smoking just 1.4 cigarettes a day (20/1.4=14.28) which means that the distance driven in the car must also increase 14 fold since they both have a 1 in a million death risk…so 50 km x 14 = 700 km...would this be correct?

 
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  • #2
Probability and statistics. 700's got to be the answer they want. The problem stinks. Smoking has cumulative effects on health, and comparing that "risk" to risk of sudden death by mechanical trauma is worse than "apples to oranges."
 
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  • #3
Thank you!
 

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