Loneliness: The Tragically Preventable Epidemic
One year ago the US Surgeon General in May, 2023 made a startling statement: Loneliness is killing as many people as smoking almost a pack of cigarettes a day. Think about that for a moment. With all the attention on smoking cessation, the billions spent on public education about the health risks, the laws requiring strict controls on access and package warnings, we are not doing anything like that to deal with an equal risk to our health.
Dr. Vivek Murthy, the US Surgeon General, was in Seattle recently to help bring attention to this problem and propose solutions. The Seattle Times reported:
“Isolation has significant effects on physical health: It increases heart disease risk by 29%, stroke risk by 32% and dementia risk by 50%, according to the Surgeon General’s office. A lack of social connection increases the risk of premature death by more than 60% — the equivalent of smoking 15 cigarettes per day.”
Many will likely point to the long effects of Covid which certainly increased isolation and loneliness. One of those consequences was the increase in the number of workers who stay at home to do their jobs. Now about 20% of workers are remote.
Another cause which Dr. Murthy points to is the use of social media. Yes, there are all kinds of headlines and stories and now books about what…
