NHS Confederation - Mental Health Network: Look harder at effects of TV advertising on mental health

23 Jul 2018 02:07 PM

Sean Duggan, chief executive of the Mental Health Network, which is part of the NHS Confederation, responded to NHS England’s letter to the ASA regarding adverts for cosmetic surgery during Love Island  

“It is great to see NHS England bringing attention to this issue.

“We know young women are the fastest growing group suffering from mental health issues, that anxiety problems are more common among women aged 16 to 24 and that a quarter of women in this age bracket have reported self-harming. “Issues around body image will only add fuel to the fire so this is a really important intervention which our members  support.

“TV advertising has long been scrutinised for potential impact on physical health and it is right that we look harder at the effect it can have on our mental health, particularly of our vulnerable children and young people.

“Our members are doing some fantastic work both in prevention and treating people with mental health problems but services are lacking the funding they need. The long term NHS investment plan is the perfect opportunity to put this right – it is vital that mental health gets its fair share of this funding.”