Hello and welcome to the details of US Surgeon General declares gun violence a public health crisis and now with the details
Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - In the first-ever public health advisory on gun violence, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy outlined what he called devastating and far-reaching consequences on the public’s well-being and called for more research funding, better mental health access and other steps such as secure storage to reduce harm. ― Reuters pic
WASHINGTON, June 25 — The US Surgeon General declared gun violence in the country a public health crisis today, calling on Americans to act to prevent rising firearm-related deaths and its cascading effects, particularly on Black Americans and other communities.
In the first-ever public health advisory on gun violence, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy outlined what he called devastating and far-reaching consequences on the public’s well-being and called for more research funding, better mental health access and other steps such as secure storage to reduce harm.
“Firearm violence is an urgent public health crisis that has led to loss of life, unimaginable pain, and profound grief for far too many Americans,” he said in a statement.
Murthy said the impact of gun violence spreads far beyond the staggering number - 50,000 a year - of lives lost. It impacts millions of people who have either been shot and those that survived it, who have witnessed gun violence, lost family members or who are reading about it in the news, he added.
Advertisement
The surgeon general also said declaring gun violence a public health issue prioritizes the problem, comparing it to a similar warning on tobacco products decades ago, and it lays out the impact this is having on children and teens. Gun violence, he said, is the leading cause of death among children and teens.
“My hope with this advisory is that we can actually take it out of the realm of politics and put it into the realm of public health, which is where it belongs,” Murthy later said in an interview on CNN.
The rate of firearm-related deaths has been steadily rising, Murthy warned, with more than half of those in 2022 driven by suicides followed by homicides and accidental deaths. It is the leading cause of death among US children and adolescents.
Advertisement
Studies have shown the increase in firearm-related fatalities among US youth has taken a disproportionate toll on Black communities.
Gun violence has also created additional harm as more US adults report worrying about themselves or a loved one becoming a victim, which “leads to cascading harm across society,” Murthy wrote, citing data from a 2023 KFF survey.
Former congresswoman and gun shooting survivor Gabby Giffords, who was seriously wounded in a 2001 shooting at a gathering of constituents in Tucson, Arizona that killed six people, called on policymakers and the US government to heed the surgeon general’s warning.
“I have seen firsthand how shootings are a major threat to Americans’ lives and well-being, and our leaders must view the problem as the public health crisis it is,” Giffords said in a statement. — Reuters
These were the details of the news US Surgeon General declares gun violence a public health crisis for this day. We hope that we have succeeded by giving you the full details and information. To follow all our news, you can subscribe to the alerts system or to one of our different systems to provide you with all that is new.
It is also worth noting that the original news has been published and is available at Malay Mail and the editorial team at AlKhaleej Today has confirmed it and it has been modified, and it may have been completely transferred or quoted from it and you can read and follow this news from its main source.
