MEN'S HEALTH MANIFESTO: Continue to focus on male-tailored interventions to tackle the primary causes of the biggest killers: CVD, cancer and mental health.
- Smoking – via plain packaging and full implementation of an updated Department of Health tobacco action plan – with specific action on roll-ups
- Drink – including via minimum unit pricing, restrictions on promotion and more informative packaging – tackling affordability, availability and attractiveness of alcohol products to men
- Obesity – including via male-tailored weight-loss programmes, increased food literacy and more focus on out-of-home and workplace eating
- Mental health – men are four times as likely to take their lives as women
- Illegal drugs – men are nearly three times more likely to die from drug misuse as women
- Sedentary lifestyle, lack of exercise and inactivity - lifestyle – men may be more active than women but too few get the recommended minimum levels of exercise
- HPV – extend vaccination to boys
- Social determinants such as unemployment, deprivation, educational underachievement and poor housing
Support a pro-health environment, food and drink culture – making it easier to have a healthy life.
Why is this important?
Social determinants and lifestyle are the biggest factors in premature death.
Men are still more likely to smoke than women, much more so in the age group 18-49. Male smokers smoke marginally more cigarettes a day than female
smokers and are more likely to smoke roll-ups.
Men are more likely than women to drink alcohol and to drink at levels that are hazardous for health. Men in Blackpool are four times more likely to die from liver disease than men in central Bedfordshire.
67% of men are overweight or obese.
Unemployment is bad for health. It can cause serious, long-term physical and mental health problems, and exacerbate pre-existing conditions.
> Next section: Don't wait for men to engage - especially on mental health
