STAYING SINGLE IS WORSE THAN SMOKING

Staying single is worse than smoking: Study
(Comments by yours truly)

Monday, August 30, 2004. The Sun, Page 9, World

London: Being single is as bad for you as smoking – or worse. For the Bridget Jones generation of 30-something single women, a major study brings the worst possible news – that on top of the cigarettes, wine and anxiety about weight, the very state of being single takes years off your life.

Comments:

I think I am doing fine. I don’t smoke, I drink occasionally, and I am anxious about my weight, but I am DOING something about it. Who wants to live forever anyway?


The research, which monitored the lifestyles of 10,000 adults across Britain over 10 years, has found that both men and women, being single is as perilous to longevity as smoking. The negative effects of being alone are thought to kick in when a person hits 30.

Comments:

I have another 2 more years to go before the negative effect kicks in. Action recommended for the time being – PARTY TILL I DROP! Those Brits are just being melodramatic.


Just why being single is so unhealthy is not clear, the researchers said.

Comments:

Abothen?? Those researchers should not have come up with this unhealthy remark if there is no concrete evidence, and cause unnecessary stress to singles out there. Singletons can sue you, you know!


Much like Bridget Jones, who defined the anxieties of a female generation, it is thought single people tend to follow less healthy lifestyles.

Comments:

Asians are likely to do better. We still live with our parents even if we are married. Those singles who live with parents, get better treatment – free maid service (cooking, washing and tidying the house), free jaga service (someone to take care of your house while you work), free gardening service (my dad is fanatic about gardening), etc. Hence, singletons in fact, have more time to exercise!


They drink more because they socialize more with large groups of friends, they skip meals, such as breakfast, and work harder because there is no partner to make time for. And they do not have an emotional confidant to share problems with.

Comments:

I bet those researchers who came up with this are jealous of singletons leading a single care free life. Singletons can shag whoever they want, nobody to answer to when they get home, no need to attend boring PTA meetings and listen to some parents whining about their kids carrying too heavy school bags, needless to worry about their children’s sexual preferences when they grow up, etc.

Not all Singletons have emotional problems. (except my ex demented spinster boss) Mind you, Bridget Jones has 3 fabulous buddies to confide in. I bet there are certain things you don’t tell your wife/husband. That is why married people keep mistresses/ friends for f*cks.


Married couples, on the other hand, tend to have better diets and more comfortable homes. Children within a marriage are also thought to have a stabilizing effect, whereas single people are likely to take more risks.

Comments:

Most married couples do not cook at home now. They eat from Styrofoam cases and plastic bags. Microwave is now a bare essential. So it doesn’t make any difference.

Okay. I agree that children in proper marriages lived balanced lives – that also depends if both parents are not moronic.

Afterall, life is a risk. A gamble. Like they always say, no risk no gain.


The study found men who had never married or who were separated or divorced at the start of the research were 10% more likely to die during the following eight years.

Comments:

Those men probably were too happy to be single again and started shagging anything that crosses their paths. Probably that explains the increase of 10% death - most likely due to STDs and VDs. At least, we know they died as happy f*ckers.


Women who were single, separated or divorced had a 4.8% greater risks of dying. That compares to the 5% extra risk of dying faced by smokers – the Independent.

Comments:

Both my grandmothers lived till their ripe old age of 80s and 90s. Their husbands died when they were in their late 40s. Both my grandmothers survived 30 - 40 years longer than their husbands. And one of them wished that her husband should have died earlier to cause her less stress. Probably she could have lived till 100.