Live like Bill Holden!

[Peter_Puget]

..or our Public Health authorities in action!

 

American and British rock stars are two to three times more likely than the general population to die young, largely because of their disproportionate rates of drug and alcohol abuse, according to a new study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. For the study, researchers from John Moores University’s Centre for Public Health in Liverpool analyzed data on 1,064 musicians between 1956 and 2005 who were featured in Virgin’s “All Time Top 1,000” albums list, which was compiled in 2000 and spans rock, punk, rap, R&B, electronica, and new age genres. The researchers found that 100 rock stars died during that time span—including Elvis Presley, Kurt Cobain, and Jimi Hendrix—and that the average age of death among British performers was 35, seven years younger than that of American stars. Furthermore, more than one-fourth of those who died during the study period succumbed to long-term drug or alcohol abuse problems. One of the researchers says that while “fame and money protects stars from the social consequences” of substance abuse, “it doesn’t protect people from the long-term health consequences” of such behavior. In light of the findings, the researchers recommend that the music industry take substance abuse and risky behavior more seriously, especially because rock stars tend to serve as role models for children (Castle, Reuters, 9/4; Reinberg, HealthDay, 9/3; Lundgren/Elser, Bloomberg News, 9/4).

[Dechristo]

Like they needed a fucking study to determine those findings.