International Journal of Health Policy and Management

International Journal of Health Policy and Management

Ending Nuclear Weapons, Before They End Us

Document Type : Editorial

Authors
Kamran Abbasi 1
Parveen Ali 2
Virginia Barbour 3
Marion Birch 4
Inga Blum 5
Peter Doherty 6
Andy Haines 7
Ira Helfand 5
Richard Horton 8
Kati Juva 9
Jose F. Lapena Jr. 10
Robert Mash 11
Olga Mironova 12, 13
Arun Mitra 14
Carlos Monteiro 15
Elena N. Naumova 16
David Onazi 5
Tilman Ruff 17
Peush Sahni 18
James Tumwine 19
Carlos Umaña 20
Paul Yonga 21, 22
Chris Zielinski 23, 24
1 Editor-in-Chief, British Medical Journal, London, UK
2 Health Sciences School, University of Sheffield, Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals, Sheffield, UK
3 Editor-in-Chief, Medical Journal of Australia, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
4 University College London, London, UK
5 International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, Springfield, IL, USA
6 Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Doherty Institute, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
7 London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
8 Editor-in-Chief, The Lancet, London, UK
9 Division of Psychiatry, Central Hospital, Helsinki University, Helsinki, Finland
10 Department of Otolaryngology, Philippine General Hospital, Manila, Philippines
11 Division of Family Medicine and Primary Care, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
12 Russian Cardiology Research and Production Complex, Moscow, Russia
13 Sechenov University, Moscow, Russia
14 Indian Doctors for Peace and Development, Ludhiana, India
15 Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paolo, Brazil
16 Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA
17 University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
18 All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India
19 School of Medicine, Kabale University, Kampala, Uganda
20 Costa Rican Ministry of Health, Costa Rica, Costa Rica
21 CA Medlynks Medical Centre and Laboratory, Nairobi, Kenya
22 Editor-in-Chief, East African Medical Journal, Nairobi, Kenya
23 World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), Bellagio, Lombardy, Italy
24 University of Winchester, Winchester, UK
10.34172/ijhpm.9200

Highlights

Chris Zielinski (Google Scholar) (PubMed)

Keywords
Nuclear Weapons
World Health Organization
United Nations

Note: This comment is being published simultaneously in multiple journals. For the full list of journals see: https://www.bmj.com/content/full-list-authors-and-signatories-nuclear-risk-editorial-may-2025.

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  2. Tomonaga M. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: a summary of the human consequences, 1945-2018, and lessons for Homo sapiens to end the nuclear weapon age. Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament. 2019;2(2):491-517. doi:1080/25751654.2019.1681226
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  7. Helfand I, Haines A, Ruff T, Kristensen H, Lewis P, Mian Z. The growing threat of nuclear war and the role of the health community. World Medical Journal. 2016;62(3):86-94.
  8. Kristensen H, Korda M, Johns E, Knight M, Kohn K. Status of world nuclear forces. Federation of American Scientists. https://fas.org/initiative/status-world-nuclear-forces/. Aaccessed March 18, 2025.
  9. Norwegian People's Aid. Nuclear weapons ban monitor 2024. https://banmonitor.org/. Accessed March 25, 2025. Published February 2025.
  10. Science and Security Board. Closer than ever: It is now 89 seconds to midnight. 2025 Doomsday Clock Statement. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/2025-statement/. Accessed March 4, 2025. Published January 28, 2025.
  11. Xia L, Robock A, Scherrer K, et al. Global food insecurity and famine from reduced crop, marine fishery and livestock production due to climate disruption from nuclear war soot injection. Nat Food. 2022;3(8):586-596. doi:1038/s43016-022-00573-0
  12. United Nations General Assembly. Nuclear war and scientific research. A/C.1/79/L.39. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com24/resolutions/L39-.pdf. Accessed March 4, 2025. Published October 15, 2024.
  13. General Assembly: 55th Plenary meeting. https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com24/votes-ga/408DRXVII.pdf. Accessed March 4, 2025.
  14. World Health Organization. Effects of nuclear war on health and health services, 2nd ed. Geneva: WHO; 1987. https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/39199. Accessed March 4, 2025.
  15. World Health Organization. Health and environmental effects of nuclear weapons. WHA46/30. https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/175987/WHA46_30_eng.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1. Accessed March 4, 2025. Published April 26, 1993
  16. Abbasi K, Ali P, Barbour V, et al. Reducing the risks of nuclear war. BMJ. 2023;382:1682. Published 2023 Aug 1. doi:1136/bmj.p1682
  17. United Nations. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. https://www.icanw.org/tpnw_full_text. Accessed March 9, 2025. Published 2017.
International Journal of Health Policy and Management
Volume 14, Issue 1
2025
Pages 1-3

  • Received Date 05 April 2025
  • Revised Date 06 May 2025
  • Accepted Date 07 May 2025
  • First Published Date 21 May 2025
  • Published Date 01 December 2025