It is a fate which has been creeping up on Britain for years, but that doesn’t make it any the harder to bear when it becomes official. According to the OECD, we now have the lowest life expectancy in Western Europe. At 80.9, the average Brit now keels over more than three years earlier than the average Swiss (84.2), Spaniard (84.0) or Italian (83.8) – which are the top three countries in Europe. We have lower life expectancy than many significantly poorer countries such as Greece and Slovenia. We also live shorter lives than countries where assisted suicide is commonplace, like Belgium and the Netherlands.
We also come out pretty badly on the use of illicit drugs, with the highest cocaine use in Europe
Why? On some health measures Britain comes out ahead in Europe. We smoke less than most countries (12.7 per cent smoke daily, compared with 19.8 per cent in Spain and 19.1
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