‘Social media should be treated like tobacco’: health experts say the internet is just as bad as smoking for under-16s as UK government edges closer to introducing ban
- A medical report compares the threats of social media to smoking
- Medical professionals are being encouraged to ask young patients about their screen time
- The UK government is weighing a blanket ban on social media use for under-16s, but some are called for a different approach
Health experts have likened the health risks of social media use by young people to the dangers of smoking, as the UK government moves closer to introducing a social media ban for under-16s.
The UK’s Academy of Medical Royal Colleges says in a report that social media use poses significant damage to children who are “continuously exposed to hateful, addictive and grossly distressing content”. The report, submitted as part of the government’s consultation process, also says social media use by young people now sits alongside smoking and wearing seatbelts “as a unifying force for the medical profession”.
The report also highlights the responsibility of medical professionals in protecting children, saying doctors should now be asking children about their screen time and social media use when they first assess them. Half of the 454 medical professionals surveyed by the academy said they treated a child with social media-linked mental ill health at least once a week.
The guidance would make it easier for doctors to quickly assess if a child’s social media use is excessive and unhealthy, encouraging medical professionals to record any long-term health issues that could arise in their younger patients. “The difference now is that the harm being done to children online is not hypothetical … It is immediate, it is documented, and it is happening at scale,” the report adds.
One of the leading supporters of government action, former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, also said social media should be treated in a similar way to tobacco. “It’s extremely addictive, bad for our health, and big tech is borrowing the big tobacco playbook to avoid regulation”, he added.
The government’s consultation period, which received contributions from more than 70,000 individuals and groups, ends today (May 26), with Technology Secretary Liz Kendall telling the BBC: “The question isn’t whether we’re going to act — we will.”
She said the government would respond to the consultation over the summer, with measures being introduced before the end of the year.
As part of the consultation process, a number of bereaved parents who believe social media contributed to the loss of their children will meet with Prime Minister Keir Starmer to share their experiences. Starmer was initially opposed to an outright ban for under-16s, but has since said he is “open-minded” about enacting stronger measures.
Weighing the pros and the cons
While many parents, family groups, and health professionals favor some form of government action, opinion is divided on what form it should take.
Some argue that imposing a blanket ban for under-16s could backfire and actually cause greater harm, as it could cause young people to seek out banned content on the dark web, or even leave them unequipped to navigate online content when they turn 16.
The chair of the Molly Rose Foundation, Ian Russell, said that instead of an outright ban, existing laws should be enforced for a more holistic approach. The organization was founded and named after Molly Rose, a teenager who lost her life in 2017 after being exposed to harmful content through social media.
Critics of a blanket ban have pointed to Australia, which introduced a wide-ranging crackdown on social media use by young people in December 2025, banning children under 16 from holding accounts on major social media platforms.
A recent study conducted by the Molly Rose Foundation revealed that 60% of under-16s were still using platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, even though these services were required to shut down the accounts of under-age users.
Since that study was published, the UK has been experimenting with restrictive features before it considers a wider ban. In March, the UK government kick-started a pilot scheme, where it tested screentime limits and curfews in 300 teenage homes to trial different kinds of bans.
To add to this, further restrictive measures are also being considered including auto-play functions and infinite scrolling being disabled to stop young users from being caught in endless webs of potentially harmful content.
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