It is not unrealistic to assume that life expectancy in a modern society will steadily rise over time. Medical advancements and greater understanding of health in general has changed Scotland for the better.
The ban on smoking in public places is one of several achievements that have helped. So why is it that life expectancy among Scots is not just stalling, but falling?
A baby born between 2019 and 2021 can expect to live 76 years if male and 80 years for women. That’s a reduction of 11 weeks on the previous figures. It means life expectancy in Scotland continues to lag behind England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The coronavirus pandemic has, of course, played a significant part in the drop. But life expectancy was beginning to drop sharply in 2018 – long before the pandemic hit.
One answer is grimly predictable. Too many Scots are still trapped in poverty. The poorest men in our society die on average 13 years before the most affluent. The gap is 10 years for women.
And that gap between the haves and the have-nots is widening over time. The Scottish Government rightly points to the action it is taking to tackle endemic poverty.
But life expectancy dropping is a sobering reminder of the scale of the challenges ministers face. This is something that can’t be changed overnight.
It’s yet another reminder that action must be taken now to help those that need it most. Shortening life expectancy is a tag that no country wants.
Vax to the max
The revelation that some 500,000 Scots have not yet been vaccinated for Covid-19 is a cause for concern. While the current coronavirus variation is milder than we experienced at the start of the pandemic, people are still dying from it.
As people begin to mix more indoors, the chance of the virus spreading again increases and there are no guarantees that any new variants will be mild. The most vulnerable will begin to get their boosters soon but some who are immuno-suppressed will remain at risk from infection.
It is not too late for the unvaccinated to get their jabs and, if they do not want to do it for their own protection, they should do it for the good of the communities in which they live. Most unvaccinated people live in Scotland’s most deprived communities so it is time for the NHS to target those areas with a new campaign to help save lives this winter.
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