It's official! The most risky places to go and things to consume

Places to go

According to UK government and NGO statistics, the most dangerous place (risk of death) a UK resident can go to is Afghanistan as a member of the armed services.

The second most dangerous place is a hospital.

Things to consume

According to UK government and NGO statistics, the most dangerous (risk of death) legal consumption is smoking.

The second most dangerous is pharmaceutical medicines.

For the risk of sickness and ill health (rather than death), pharmaceutical medicines rise to risk number one.

Lightning and bathtubs

The same data shows that you are five times more likely to be struck dead by lightning in the UK than to die from using food supplements, vitamins or minerals. You are more than five times more likely to drown in a bathtub than to die from using a herbal remedy.

A UK resident is 62,000 times more likely to die from pharmaceutical drugs than from food supplements, vitamins or minerals.

In the UK, you are 293,000 times more likely to die from preventable medical injuries than from taking any food supplement.

Similar risks apply in the USA and Australia.

The data

Bar chart compiled by Alliance for Natural Health.

Graphical bubble chart compiled by Alliance for Natural Health.