Bad Start First, an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana explodes, then a Japanese nuclear plant melts down. Meanwhile, America is dealing with two slow-moving trends that pose their own threats to human health. Factory farming may eventually degrade the effectiveness of antibiotics on humans, while heroin-based pain-killers are proving to be frighteningly addictive.

	Take Your Meds Opioids are opium-related drugs developed to help patients dealing with chronic pain. The leading product is actually a time-release version of heroin, which is pushed on gullible doctors by an army of pretty young sales reps. The company claims that the likelihood of addiction is close to zero, but deaths from opioid overdose are now roughly equal to those caused by motor vehicles, and also to those caused by guns.
	Super-size That? Meanwhile, America's raging obesity epidemic is affecting all age groups, including schoolchildren. This is resulting in a spike in diabetes, which is now the seventh-leading cause of death in America. Many blame the growing obesity problem on fast food and sweetened sodas. Diabetes rates are highest in North America, Europe and Central Asia, but far lower in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.  America now leads the world in diabetes, as a percentage of total population.