California County Declares Loneliness A Public Health Emergency

A county in the Silicon Valley has declared loneliness a public health emergency. According to Fox News, San Mateo, located in San Francisco Bay Area of California, passed a resolution on January 30 to make it official. This comes months after the World health Organisation (WHO) dubbed loneliness a global health threat with far-reaching consequences for both mental and physical well-being. The global health body also associated loneliness with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety and premature death.

The Board of Supervisors of San Mateo County took a unanimous decision about the profound impact of loneliness. "Loneliness has a profound impact on health and is comparable to smoking a pack of cigarettes a day," said supervisor David Canepa in a post on X.

He also called for the state of California to appoint a "minister of loneliness" to help those "suffering in silence to restore meaningful connections that were lost during the pandemic."

US surgeon general Vivek Murthy also took note of the development.

"When I released my Surgeon General's Advisory on loneliness, I outlined what localities can do to promote connection. Grateful to San Mateo County for becoming the first county in America to recognize loneliness as a public health emergency," he said on X.

Mr Murthy had earlier said that loneliness leads to poor health outcomes, including heart attack, depression and even early death.

Dr David Campbell, clinical and program director at an addiction and mental health treatment facility in Oregon, said he agreed with the decision to declare loneliness a public health emergency.

"In present-day America, it appears that we are exchanging floor space and electronic devices for friendships and community," he told Fox News.

In its report titled 'Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation', the WHO said that mortality impact of being socially disconnected is similar to that caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day and even greater than that associated with obesity and physical inactivity.

The WHO also said that it will launch a commission on social connection - "the first global initiative to tackle the epidemic of loneliness".