Loneliness as dangerous to health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day: US Surgeon General

The Surgeon General of the United States of America (USA), Vivek Murthy, has said that loneliness poses a health risk equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. He made the comments while talking to the BBC regarding the prevalence of loneliness in the US.

Murthy – one of the highest ranking health officials in the country-said that the problem affects nearly half of all Americans and he has also experienced it himself.

He urged US health authorities to treat loneliness as seriously as they treat obesity or drug abuse.

“I had neglected my family and my friends during that time, thinking that it was too hard to focus on work, and focus on family and friends,” said Murthy while talking about his own experience.

“I was really suffering from the consequences of that, which were a profound sense of loneliness that followed me for weeks, which stretched into months,” he added.
Experiencing loneliness has been linked to a significant increase in the chances of premature death, by up to almost 30 per cent. This increased risk is associated with various health problems such as diabetes, hearts attacks, insomnia, and dementia.