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Charles F. Gilks, MSc, MRCP; William L. Irving, MRCP; Marie R. van Schravendijk, PhD
John Radcliffe Hospital Oxford, England

JAMA. 1985;254(5):608.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

Dr Ende¹ correctly emphasizes the dangers of nuclear proliferation and points out the potential role of poverty and population growth in triggering nuclear conflict in the Third World. However, Dr Ende fails to address the primary problem, that developing countries acquire nuclear armaments and delivery systems from today's nuclear powers, often at a price that jeopardizes their own development and well-being. A halt to the production of nuclear weapons by developed countries would reduce the availability of nuclear technology and fissionable material for export or misappropriation, making it extremely difficult for nonweapons states to develop nuclear weapons. Furthermore, a halt to the nuclear arms race would free enormous human and financial resources that could be employed to promote Third World development. As noted by the World Bank, improvements in health, education, and economic circumstances are important factors in stemming population growth,² and would therefore ease . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Footnotes
Edited by Drummond Rennie, MD, Senior Contributing Editor.

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