Unemployment helps health?

["Devine, James" <jdevine@xxxxxxx>]

>From today's SLATE summary of the major U.S. newspapers: >A researcher at
UNC-Greensboro has found, under certain circumstances, an inverse
relationship between health and prosperity, the NY [TIMES] reports. Any
number of infirmities--death, for example--drop off during short-term
recessions. Smoking, obesity, heavy drinking and some kinds of back problems
also decline, perhaps because there's no extra money (for booze, say) and
lots of free time (for exercise). Some numbers: A one-point rise in a
state's unemployment rate translates into a .5 percent drop in the total
death rate. Conversely, a point drop in unemployment brings fatal car
crashes up 2.4 percent. The inevitable kicker from the Times: "What's money
when you have your health?"<

so we need more unemployment?
JD