Choking to death on food of any type is very rare. There are about 60 million kids under age 15 in the US. 61 choked to death on food. I don't know how many of those choked on hotdogs, but I assume that given everything that kids eat it couldn't have been that many.
So how many hotdog were eaten each year? Apparently about 9 billion!
Suppose that children eat hotdogs in proportion to their share of the population. That would be about 1.8 billion hotdogs (that may be high or low, but take it as a rough guess). If all choking deaths from food were due to hotdogs, that is 61/1.8 billion, a 0.0000034 percent rate. You are probably at more risk crossing a street.
UPDATE: Another estimate of the number of hotdogs puts the annual total at 7 billion (National Hot Dog and Sausage Council for 2007), or using our above assumptions 1.4 billion eaten by children. The risk rate rises to 0.0000044 percent.
UPDATE2: From "Kids and Killer Hot Dogs? 3 Tips to Prevent Choking on Food"
On fatal food-related chokings, hotdogs make up 17 percent (Policy Statement␣Prevention of Choking Among Children, in the Journal Pediatrics, p. 602). 17 percent of 66 to 77 is between 11 and 13.
By means of comparison, in 2006, 54 children under 15 died from gun accidents (this is the latest year for which the data is available).
Choking kills more than 100 U.S. children 14 years or younger each year and thousands more — 15,000 in 2001 — are treated in emergency rooms. Food, including candy and gum, is among the leading culprits, along with items like coins and balloons. Of the 141 choking deaths in kids in 2006, 61 were food-related. . . .
So how many hotdog were eaten each year? Apparently about 9 billion!
Suppose that children eat hotdogs in proportion to their share of the population. That would be about 1.8 billion hotdogs (that may be high or low, but take it as a rough guess). If all choking deaths from food were due to hotdogs, that is 61/1.8 billion, a 0.0000034 percent rate. You are probably at more risk crossing a street.
UPDATE: Another estimate of the number of hotdogs puts the annual total at 7 billion (National Hot Dog and Sausage Council for 2007), or using our above assumptions 1.4 billion eaten by children. The risk rate rises to 0.0000044 percent.
UPDATE2: From "Kids and Killer Hot Dogs? 3 Tips to Prevent Choking on Food"
Between 66 and 77 children under age 10 die from choking on food each year. And because of the cylindrical shape that seems custom-made to lodge in a kid's throat, hot dogs are the food most commonly associated with fatal choking among children. . . .
On fatal food-related chokings, hotdogs make up 17 percent (Policy Statement␣Prevention of Choking Among Children, in the Journal Pediatrics, p. 602). 17 percent of 66 to 77 is between 11 and 13.
Hot dogs accounted for 17% of food-related asphyxiations among children younger than 10 years of age in a 41-state study by Harris et al.
By means of comparison, in 2006, 54 children under 15 died from gun accidents (this is the latest year for which the data is available).
Related Posts
Department of Labor limits early access to unemployment data to organizations that it defines as "primarily journalistic enterprises"From the Washington Examiner: But Carl Fillichio, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis’ top communications advisor, circulated - So what do we make of the Government Clearing GM over Volt's battery fires?There are numerous news stories over the US ending its probe over Chevy Volt battery fires. But where are there mentio
- Banks pressured to buy sovereign debt: When will government realize the problems from forcing banks to make risky loans?Government forces banks to lend money to risky borrowers. Now they force banks to lend money to governments. &nbs
- Even Obama's own hand picked CEO advisors what him to change his regulatory approachIt turns out that Steve Jobs hasn't been the only business executive warning Obama about his policies. From Reuters:Pr
- New York Times gives only one side of Obama - Steve Jobs discussionHere is the way the New York Times in an article entitled "How U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work" describes the interaction
- Another year of faster than promised increases in health insurance prices after ObamacareLast year I had this post available here. This year we have this news: The good news is that the cost of employer-spon
"Doctors Urging for a Safer, Choke-Free Hot Dog"
4/
5
Oleh
abudzar
