LGA responds to loneliness report
2 Mar 2017 10:03 AM
Chairman of the LGA's Community Wellbeing Board, Cllr Izzi Seccombe, responds to a new report by Relate on loneliness, which says that one in eight adults has no close friends.
"We have long been calling for loneliness to be recognised as a major public health concern and we support Relate in drawing attention to this increasingly important issue.
"Loneliness and social isolation have a major impact on people's health and wellbeing.
"Research shows loneliness can be more harmful than smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
"We all need to wake up to this problem, which is placing an increasing burden on health and social care."
View report here