This table has been compiled by the theme issue editorial team from the sources listed below
| Some familiar risks | The chance they will happen |
| Getting three balls in the UK national lottery | 1 in 11 |
| Dying on the road over 50 years of driving | 1 in 85 |
| Transmission of measles | 1 in 100 |
| Dying of any cause in the next year | 1 in 100 |
| Annual risk of death from smoking 10 cigarettes per day | 1 in 200 |
| Getting four balls in the UK national lottery | 1 in 206 |
| Needing emergency treatment in the next year after being injured by a can, bottle, or jar | 1 in 1,00 |
| Needing emergency treatment in the next year after being injured by a bed mattress or pillow | 1 in 2000 |
| Death by an accident at home | 1 in 7100 |
| Getting five balls in the UK national lottery | 1 in 11 098 |
| Death by an accident at work | 1 in 40 000 |
| Death playing soccer | 1 in 50 000 |
| Death by murder | 1 in 100 000 |
| Being hit in your home by a crashing aeroplane | 1 in 250 000 |
| Death by rail accident | 1 in 500 000 |
| Drowning in the bath in the next year | 1 in 685 000 |
| Getting six balls in the UK national lottery | 1 in 2 796 763 |
| Being struck by lightning | 1 in 10 000 000 |
| Death from new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease | 1 in 10 000 000 |
| Death from a nuclear power accident | 1 in 10 000 000 |
Most risks given are approximate
Sources:
Calman K, Royston G. Risk language and dialects. BMJ 1997;315:939-42.
Adams A, Smith A. Risk perception and communication: recent developments and implications for anaesthesia. Anaesthesia 2001;56:745-55.
Best Treatments. www.besttreatments.org