Gambling in Wales – a Public Health Priority www.cymru.gov.uk Dr. Frank Atherton Chief Medical Officer for Wales The Living Room - National Conference on Excessive Gambling in Wales 21 June 2017 1 1
CMO Role Advice to Ministers and Welsh Government Medical Leadership within NHS Medical AHPs Advocate – population health improvement
Population Health Priorities: Unfinished Business Improving Health Outcomes Proximal determinants; smoking, alcohol, drugs Health Settings Schools, workplace, colleges, universities, prisons Evidence Based Programs Healthy Child Wales, First 1000 Days, Adverse Child Experiences
Population Health Priorities: Unsolved Problems Inequalities Obesity/Healthy Lives Mental Health Healthy Environments HWB Future Generations Health in All Policies and Health Impact Assessment Large scale societal change
Population Health Priorities: New/Emerging Challenges Common Pathways to Addiction Gambling Nicotine Corporate Determinants of Health Communicable Diseases have not gone away PanFlu, H7N9, MERS, Ebola, Zika, WNV, Lyme
Economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being of Wales A more equal Wales A wales of cohesive communities Economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being of Wales
Programme for Government ‘Healthy and Active’ one of four strategic priorities Prioritise mental health – prevent, treatment and support Wider determinants – sustainable employment
Gambling ….. the picture in Wales
Who has problems with gambling in Wales ? 1.1% of adults in Wales aged 16+ identified as problem gamblers 1.8% of people under the age of 45 are problem gamblers. 3.8% of people identified as either at low or moderate risk of gambling), with rates highest for men aged 16-24 years old, where one in ten are at risk of gambling problems.
The Challenges Low prevalence – high impact Growing issue: People Industry Advertising Health Inequalities Online Gambling Limited levers in Wales
Related Delivery Plans
Future work Profiling problem gambling as a current and emerging public health issue Identifying effective policy responses Maximising the opportunity in the 4 strategies for cross-portfolio working
Thank you for listening www.cymru.gov.uk Dr. Frank Atherton Chief Medical Officer for Wales The Living Room - National Conference on Excessive Gambling in Wales 21 June 2017 13 13