Do we need a men's health tsar?

The Men's Health Forum is calling on the government to appoint a men's health expert to a senior executive position in the department of health. Or, to use the government's currently preferred jargon: the MHF wants a men's health tsar.

Peter Baker, Director of the Forum, told the health Secretary John Reid: 'I think that such an appointment is now urgent. The state of men's health in this country is unacceptably poor and not enough is being done to rectify this, either nationally or locally. Unless ministers start to tackle the problems of men's health, the Government will fail to achieve its public health targets.

'Yet if men are given the right opportunity to access health services, they are often very keen to take advantage of them.'

The MHF see men's health as the forgotten area of health. 'For too long, male health has been the forgotten area of health care in the UK,' said Peter, 'and the appointment of a men's health tsar would signal that at last the Government was taking this issue seriously. This cannot be left to local decision making. Average male life expectancy is significantly lower than that for females, with men much more likely to die of cancer, cardiovascular disease and suicide. And men tend to smoke more, drink more alcohol and eat a poorer diet than women.'

The MHF is having the issue of a men's health tsar raised in Parliament, with a direct question to Mr Reid asking him to make the appointment.

What do you think about having a men's health 'tsar'?