&gt; The poster was only asking for something that would improve clarity.<p>This is not true. There is no issue of clarity if I say &quot;the effect of losing a leg on quality-adjusted life years is four times smaller than the effect of smoking&quot;, or at least, no ambiguity about how the two numbers I&#x27;m thinking of relate to each other (numbers wholly invented). The poster was asking us to conform to his personal peeves.