Did you know that ...

l An 18-year-old man has an 80 per cent chance of reaching 65, while an 18-year-old woman has an 88 per cent chance.

l Between the ages of 15 and 30, men are around 2.5 times more likely than women to die.

l More than three-quarters of suicides and 70 per cent of victims of violent crime are male.

l Men account for around 70 million GP visits each year - fewer than half the number of visits made by women to their GPs.

l 35 per cent of men visit the dentist "only when they have trouble". The figure for women is 22 per cent.

l One in four men drinks enough alcohol to put his health at risk. The figure for women is one in 10.

l Testicular cancer occurs in 1,400 men each year - double the number of 20 years ago. Fortunately, if caught early, this cancer is almost always curable. But prostate cancer, which is far less responsive to treatment, now kills 10,000 men each year.

l With the exception of the homosexual community's acceptance of safer sex, men have an indifferent record of responding to health education. For this reason, much health education aimed at men is targeted at women, in the hope that it will be passed on.