Increasingly more voices are rising up and stating that the lockdowns are causing more harm than the virus they are supposed to be fighting. The latest published in Perspectives on Psychological Science reports on the hidden costs of loneliness which they say is the equivalent of smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

The Western Journal explains:

“Long-term social isolation is known to carry an increased risk of mortality comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day — and lonely people are more likely to choose coping mechanisms that aren’t good for their health,” The Guardian reported Saturday. That statistic came from research originally published in Perspectives on Psychological Science.

The Guardian talked to numerous people who have suffered debilitating depression caused by the social isolation of government-mandated shutdowns.

In November, the U.K. Office for National Statistics published a report showing that crippling loneliness has surged to record levels, especially among 16-to-29-year-olds. This revelation mirrors similar trends from around the world. In Japan, for example, suicides outnumbered COVID-19 deaths in 2020.

READ: Researchers Find Damaging Effects of Long-Term Social Isolation Are Worse Than We Thought

And this is not the first time we have heard that the lockdown cure is worse than COVID. Here are what other researchers are saying:

READ: CDC: Over 1 in 4 young adults contemplated suicide in June amid COVID-19

READ: Depression Among Children Has Increased ‘Substantially’ Under Lockdown: Study

READ: Overdose Deaths Explode In Ohio County After Lockdown, Coroner Cites Joblessness

READ: Solitary confinement: 4 in 5 seniors have felt more anxious, depressed during pandemic

READ: Italy Reports ‘Alarming’ Spike in Attempted Suicides Among Youth During Lockdowns

READ: COVID-19-related mental health disorders will cause increased suicides, drug overdoses: researchers warn

READ: More youth are dying of suicide, overdose than COVID-19 during pandemic: CDC director

READ: U.S. Lockdowns Trigger Surge in Domestic Violence

READ: A Major Crisis Deepened During The Covid Lockdowns: Opioids

READ: Report: Suicide rise from lockdowns to kill more than coronavirus in Australia

READ: COVID-19-related mental health disorders will cause increased suicides, drug overdoses: researchers warn

READ: LOCKDOWN ‘JUST THE FINAL STEP’: Divorce woes increase with second wave of COVID

READ: California doctors say they’ve seen more deaths from suicide than coronavirus since lockdown

READ: ‘Calamitous’: domestic violence set to soar by 20% during global lockdown

READ: Suicide, help hotline calls soar in Southern California over coronavirus anxieties

READ: Lockdown-inspired suicides on course to DWARF coronavirus deaths in Australia & in time, even in US – studies

READ: Depression Has Skyrocketed During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Study Says

READ: Psychiatrists warn of negative effects of lockdown on mental health

READ: UK lockdown causing ‘serious mental illness in first-time patients’

READ: Problem drinking soars under UK lockdown, say addiction experts

READ: New thinking on COVID lockdowns: They’re overly blunt and costly

READ: Critics say lockdowns will be more damaging than the virus. Experts say it’s a false choice

READ: Depression has more than tripled since the COVID-19 pandemic