Cost of living crisis costs two years of UK life

The cost of living crisis could take two years on average off a British person’s life expectancy, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal linking health issues to rising prices and thousands more premature deaths. Researchers found that the impact of rising prices was not evenly spread across the population, with those in the most deprived households dying over a decade before people in the least deprived areas. The study’s modelling focused on Scotland, but researchers said the cost of living impact was similar across the UK. It found that government intervention had a measurable impact; but policies like the Government Cost of Living Support package and Energy Price Guarantee were not enough to prevent widening health inequality.