This is apparently related to the amount and type of fish eaten by New Yorkers.
The health department survey found that the rates were higher among more affluent residents compared to those in lower income groups and were particularly high among Asians, who eat more fish.
The authorities say that while the mercury levels found in New Yorkers is not a risk for most adults, for children under 6 years old and pregnant and breast-feeding women, fish with high mercury contents should be avoided due to concerns that it increases the risk of cognitive problems in children.
Daniel Kass, the assistant commissioner for environmental surveillance and policy at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, says there are times in life when it is best to keep mercury levels down.
The health department has produced a brochure informing people about the issue, explains which types of fish have the lowest mercury counts and can be eaten more often, and which should be eaten rarely or not at all.
The brochure explains that while pregnant women can eat tilapia, herring or whiting up to five times per week because those fish are very low in mercury, they should not eat Chilean sea bass, swordfish or fresh tuna, which are too high in mercury.
The city's health department says the mercury information came as a result of a Health and Nutrition Examination Survey carried out in 2004 which was modeled on one done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The survey found that New Yorkers in the highest income bracket had higher mercury levels than those in the lowest income group with foreign-born Chinese women top of the poll.
Experts say fish does have health benefits and it is easy to maintain a healthy fish diet without subjecting the body to too much mercury.
The health department says it is possible that other cities have similarly high levels, or higher ones, but haven't yet documented them and also advises the public to avoid fish caught in the East or Hudson rivers or in New York Harbor because they may have other contaminants.
The brochure is available through the city's 311 telephone information hot line, and comes in English, Spanish and Chinese.
The results of this study raise questions about how direct-to-consumer advertising of smoking cessation products are regulated. Ironically, says Mathios, ads for prescription smoking-cessation products are more heavily regulated than cigarette ads because of mandatory risk disclosures.
In a 2006 study published in the Journal of Regulatory Economics , the same Cornell authors found that consumers are exposed to more ads for over-the-counter smoking-cessation products than those requiring a prescription. If all smoking cessation products were available over the counter, the two studies taken together suggest that they would be advertised more heavily and, therefore, lead to significantly more successful quits.
When smokers try to quit, at least two-thirds try "cold turkey" and do not use a smoking-cessation product. However, in recent years at least 20 percent of smokers who attempt to quit report using a pharmaceutical smoking-cessation product.
Other co-authors include Rosemary Avery, Don Kenkel and Dean Lillard, all at Cornell. The work was funded in part by the National Cancer Institute, Merck Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
cornell