YOUR POSTCODE can add years onto your life, according to research from Barnsley Council.
Speaking at the latest South Area Council meeting, head of public health Diane Lee presented members with a presentation which showed the dramatic difference in life expectancy depending on where you live in the borough.
According to her report, travelling 3.5 miles on the 95 bus to Darton West from Barnsley adds 3.4 years. But travelling 2.5 miles on the 34 bus to St Helen’s from Barnsley means you lose 3.6 years.
Diane said: “Recent data published about the life expectancy in Barnsley shows that people are living longer, which is great news, but in poorly health, which isn’t great.
“A man born in Barnsley is expected to live 78.2 years, but only 58.6 of those in good health. For 20 years a typical man is suffering ill health. Women live longer but unfortunately that means longer ill health, over 22 years.
“We need to reduce that gap. And depending on where you live that can affect your life expectancy. A male born in Darton can live seven years longer than a man born in Athersley South. We don’t want lives to be dependent on where you live.”
The presentation also included shocking 2015/16 statistics about alcohol consumption.
Barnsley is just behind Bradford in terms of being the highest for average litres of alcohol sold through off licences in the region.
Diane said: “With the exception of Bradford there is more sold in Barnsley than in the rest of the region. That might explain why our alcohol related hospital admissions are particularly high for issues such as liver disease.
“The biggest cost to the wider economy is in work with alcohol related deaths. Annually it costs £93.9m in Barnsley, which is almost £400 per head.”
Diane said Barnsley was also the highest in the region for smoking-related hospital admissions.
Diane added: “It costs £75.6m per year, the majority of which is in lost productivity. If our target is to reduce it by one per cent per year on average then we need 6,000 less smokers a year.
“We want to make smoking invisible. If young people see adults smoking they think it is normal to do. If we make it invisible then young people will grow up not influenced by it. We started with play parks in Elsecar and Locke Park. Now all the key parks are smoke free. And the markets are going smoke free next year.”
South Area Council chairman Coun Mick Stowe said: “I think it is useful to learn some of the things we could do for nothing. If Diane wants to come and do another presentation on what we could do for free or for relatively low cost then we can make an action plan. We have an opportunity in the new year to look at a plan and roll out with the limited resources we have got.”
