LONDONERS URGED TO ‘MIND THE CHAP’ DURING MEN’S HEALTH WEEK

To mark Men’s Health Week 2017 while recognising that, on average, 12 men a day die by suicide in the UK, the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) will hand out limited-edition ‘Mind The Chap’ Oyster Card holders at 12 London tube and rail stations during the morning and evening rush hours of June 14.

Additional Oyster Card holders will also be distributed at Canary Wharf station on Thursday June 15 and Friday June 16.

With support from Topman, Octopus Investments, Dennis Publishing and The App Business, the 2017 Mind The Chap campaign lands in the middle of Men’s Health Week (June 12-18, 2017) and is targeting thousands of commuters with the slogan ‘Mind The Chap’ to serve as a reminder that men are three times more likely than women to die by suicide.

CALM CEO Simon Gunning said: “It’s incredibly important that we keep raising awareness of the fact that suicide is the single biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK. Over 55,000 Oyster Card holders have been handed out since the first Mind The Chap event in 2015, and CALM is proud to have a presence at London’s tube and rail stations again this year.”

There were 6,117 suicides in the UK in 2015 of which 75%, or 4618, were male (NISRA, GRO, ONS). Despite CALM’s recent findings that 42% of men in the UK had considered taking their own life, male suicide remains a taboo subject. Worryingly, half of those men did not talk to anyone about it, and nearly half of those that stayed silent did so because they “didn’t want people to worry”.

Mind The Chap Oyster Card holders will be handed out at the following stations, 08:00 - 10:00am and 16:30 - 18:30pm:

London Bridge – Wednesday June 14

Liverpool Street – Wednesday June 14

Victoria – Wednesday June 14

Waterloo – Wednesday June 14

Bank – Wednesday June 14

Blackfriars – Wednesday June 14

Farringdon – Wednesday June 14

Green Park – Wednesday June 14

Kings Cross – Wednesday June 14

Holborn – Wednesday June 14

Oxford Circus – Wednesday June 14

Piccadilly Circus – Wednesday June 14

Canary Wharf – Thursday June 15 and Friday June 16