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Call to close ‘mortality gap’ for people with severe mental illness
More must be done to close the “mortality gap” for people with severe mental illness, leading doctors have warned.
The warning came after it emerged that more than 26,000 adults with conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disease die prematurely each year.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists said adults with severe mental illness are almost five times more likely to die before the age of 75 from preventable illnesses in England.
It warned that the mortality gap between people living with severe mental illness and the rest of the population is “growing”.
Analysis by the College suggests that 80,182 people with severe mental illness died prematurely from preventable illness between 2018 and 2020 – 26,727 each year.
It called on the Government to ensure people with severe mental illness receive an annual physical health check.
It said adults with severe mental illness are more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviours including drinking and smoking, while they are less likely to engage with services such as cancer screening.
The analysis found that people living with severe mental illness, compared with the rest of the population, were:
– 6.6 times more likely to die prematurely from respiratory disease.– 6.5 times more likely to die prematurely from liver disease.– 4.1 times more likely to die prematurely from cardiovascular disease.– 2.3 times more likely to die prematurely from cancer.
From 2015 to 2017, adults with severe mental illness were 4.6 times more likely to die before the age of 75 compared with the rest of the population. This increased to 4.9 times from 2018 to 2020, the College said.
Dr Adrian James, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: “Having a severe mental illness shouldn’t be an early death sentence.
“We’re calling on the Government to ensure everyone with severe mental illness receives an annual physical health check and to ensure reducing premature mortality is a major priority in the forthcoming Major Conditions Strategy.”
Source: The Independent, 17 May 2023
See also: Royal College of Psychiatrists - Over 26,000 adults with severe mental illness die prematurely from preventable illness each year
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Schools to be told they should teach pupils about vaping risks
Schools will be told to teach pupils about the health risks of vaping as part of a government crackdown on the issue.
Schools are resorting to exclusions and toilet bans for pupils caught vaping on-site, as well as installing vape detectors, a Schools Week investigation found.
The government said today that its wider review of Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) will now also look at vaping.
Guidance to schools will be “explicit” that children should learn about the harms of vaping, as they do for other substances such as tobacco and alcohol, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) told Schools Week.
It added that further details on which age groups will be taught the risks would be released as part of the RSHE review outcome.
Current statutory RSHE guidance, which is statutory meaning schools have to follow it, states, for instance, that pupils “should know” the facts about legal and illegal harmful substances and associated risks, “including smoking, alcohol use and drug taking” by the end of primary school.
Hazel Cheeseman, deputy chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said the measures did not go far enough.
“Seeking to address the issue of youth vaping in schools is a bit like closing the door when the horse has bolted,” she added.
“To truly change youth vaping patterns we need to make the products the most appeal to them, disposable vapes, more expensive, tackle their promotion and crack down on illicit supply. Government announcements will not sufficiently do any of this.”
Source: Schools Week, 31 May 2023
See also: ASH- Resources on youth vaping
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Every Canadian cigarette will soon carry a health warning
Canada will soon print warning labels directly on cigarettes in a world-first, the country's health agency announced.
New packaging will feature a warning on each cigarette with phrases like: "Cigarettes cause cancer" and "Poison in every puff".
The regulation will come into effect on 1 August, Health Canada said.
It is part of an effort to reduce tobacco use in Canada to less than 5% by 2035.
In an announcement on Wednesday, Health Canada said the new regulations "will make it virtually impossible to avoid health warnings" on tobacco products.
The health agency anticipates that by April 2025, retailers in Canada will only carry tobacco products that feature the new warning labels directly on the cigarettes.
In a statement, Canada's minister of mental health and addictions, Carolyn Bennett, said tobacco use kills around 48,000 Canadians each year.
"We are taking action by being the first country in the world to label individual cigarettes with health warning messages," Ms Bennett said, calling the change a "bold step".
The move was applauded by the Canadian Cancer Society, Canada's Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Lung Association, who said they hope the measures will deter people, especially youth, from taking up smoking.
Source: BBC, 31 May 2023
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