‘Social media should be treated like tobacco’: Health experts say internet is just as bad as smoking for under-16s as UK government moves closer to ban.

• Medical report compares social media threats to smoking
• Healthcare professionals encouraged to ask young patients about their screen time
• The UK government is considering a blanket ban on the use of social media for under-16s, but some are being called upon to take a different approach.

Health experts have compared the health risks of young people’s use of social media to the dangers of smoking, as the UK government moves closer to introducing a ban on social media for under-16s.

The UK’s Academy of Medical Royal Colleges says in a report that social media use causes significant harm to children who are “continuously exposed to hateful, addictive and extremely distressing content.” The report, submitted as part of the government’s consultation process, also says young people’s use of social media now joins smoking and seat belt use “as a unifying force for the medical profession”.