And because the principle of the hospice movement is neither to hasten nor to postpone death, the Medicare hospice benefit pays only for symptom management and pain control.

ECONOMIST: On death and dying: The final hurry | The

Some conventional weapons or legal crowd control can also release smoke that causes respiratory problems, a common symptom of chemical weapons exposure.

CNN: Israeli official: Syria using chemical weapons

When it arrived in America it was detected within months thanks to the vigilance of the country's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in noticing clusters of a previously rare skin cancer that is often a symptom of immune-system collapse.

ECONOMIST: Bird flu and public health