https://www.siliconvalley.com/2023/05/02/official-loneliness-is-a-health-risk-akin-to-smoking/ > By Amanda Seitz | Associated Press > WASHINGTON — Widespread loneliness in the U.S. poses health risks as deadly as smoking up to 15 cigarettes daily, costing the health industry billions of dollars annually, the U.S. surgeon general said Tuesday in declaring the latest public health epidemic.