Following the micromort, a 1-in-a-million chance of sudden death, we now have the microlife, which is 30 minutes off your life expectancy.
Both micromorts and microlives are good units for comparing risks:
Here are some things that would, on average, cost a 30-year-old man 1 microlife:
- Smoking 2 cigarettes
- Drinking 7 units of alcohol (eg 2 pints of strong beer)
- Each day of being 5 Kg overweight
The full article, which is well worth reading, explores the relationship between microlives and micromorts, and points out that different branches of the UK government appear to place similar values on them.