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Smoking drags UK down the world health league

New life-expectancy league tables released by theWorld Health Organisation today show the UK (71.7 years) is behind many otherEuropean countries including France, (73.1); Sweden, (73.0); Spain, (72.8);Italy, (72.7); Greece, (72.5); and Switzerland (72.5).  The highest life expectancy in the world isJapan (74.5 years).  UK is ranked 14^th.

Echoing comments made by the WHO, ASH Director CliveBates commented:

"The rise in both male and female smoking happened earlier in Britainthan elsewhere - and so we are paying the price in ill-health earlier.  The rise in smoking diseases typically showsup about 25 years after the rise in smoking.  It was argued for a long time that low levels of lung cancer among womenmight mean that women were less susceptible to tobacco, but it has turned outthat when women smoke like men, they die like men."

But ASH said there was reason to expect the positionto improve - especially if the Government makes smoking a mainstream NHSpriority.  Clive Bates said:

"The illnesses we see today are driven by the rise in smoking in the1970s, so we should expect to see an improvement in life expectancy as thebenefits of the sharp fall in smoking since the 1970s work through thepopulation."

"it all points to the importance of treating tobacco dependence as aproper disease and getting the NHS to take it really seriously - we will bemaking proposals as part of the Government's plans to modernise the NHS"

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