Prestigious medical journals call for nuclear ban

From International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War:

More than 100 medical journals, including the Lancet, the British Medical Journal, the New England Journal of Medicine, and the JAMA have issued a joint call for urgent steps to decrease the growing danger of nuclear war and to move rapidly to the elimination of nuclear weapons. At a time of expanded fighting in Ukraine and increased tensions in Korea, leaders of the global health community underscore that any use of nuclear weapons would be catastrophic for humanity.

The unprecedented call to action comes in the form of an editorial co-authored by the editors of 11 of the leading medical and health journals, the World Association of Medical Editors and leaders of IPPNW. The editorial is being released this week in conjunction with the start of the UN Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Preparatory Committee Meeting and the 78th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima.

“The danger is great and growing,” the editorial warns. “The nuclear armed states must eliminate their nuclear arsenals before they eliminate us.”

Citing the special responsibility of the health community, the editorial urges “health professional associations to inform their members worldwide about the threat to human survival and to join with the IPPNW to support efforts to reduce the near-term risks of nuclear war.” (Headline image by ICAN)

Read the editorial