Lifespans to be equal

MEN will live as long as women by 2032 – for the first time since records began. According to a report published this week, the life expectancy gap between the sexes is set to be eliminated within 15 years.

Experts said the biggest reason is changing levels of smoking. Cigarettes account for about 100,000 deaths a year in the UK from cancer and heart disease.

Lifespans have fluctuated in the past 150 years, with the gap at its widest in 1969 when women lived on average five years and eight months longer than men. It now stands at two-and-a-half years.