As we approach the Hiroshima anniversary, over 100 medical journals, some prestigious, have all published an editorial on Aug. 1, “Reducing the Risks of Nuclear War,” warning of the danger of nuclear war and the need for abolishing nuclear weapons. The journals include the New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, Journal of the American Medical Association, BMJ, the Journals of the British Medical Association, African Health Sciences, Farm Animal Health and Nutrition, International Nursing Review, and Revista Medica Hondureña. (https://www.bmj.com/content/full-list-authors-and-signatories-nuclear-risk-editorial-august-2023)
Their editorial goes through the consequences of a nuclear war, and refers to the previous efforts by scientists and physicians to limit nuclear weapons during the 1980s, which helped end the Cold War. It also laments the fact that there has been little progress in limiting nuclear armaments since the signing of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in 1968. “Even a ‘limited’ nuclear war involving only 250 of the 13,000 nuclear weapons in the world could kill 120 million people outright and cause global climate disruption leading to a nuclear famine, putting 2 billion people at risk,” Ira Helfand, ex-president of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War and a co-author of the editorial, observed.
