Tackling child social media use like the fight against big tobacco: UK medics

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LONDON: The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges has urged the UK government to tackle children's social media and smartphone addiction with the same regulatory ferocity used against Big Tobacco.

In a powerful submission to a parliamentary consultation, the coalition of medical institutions declared that tech regulation has become a definitive public health priority for modern doctors.

The academy noted that excessive screen use now ranks alongside historic campaigns like smoking bans and mandatory seatbelts as a unifying force for the medical profession. Senior medics argue that the current digital landscape poses severe risks to youth mental health, sleep, and social development.

Rejecting the idea that the burden should fall solely on parents, the doctors are calling for stringent legislative controls on algorithmic features and tech platforms.

They insist that just as with tobacco, corporate accountability and state-level restrictions are the only effective ways to safeguard the next generation.