Footnotes

• Twitter Martin McKee @martinmckee, Lucinda Hiam @lu_hiam and Danny Dorling @dannydorling.

• Contributors DD conceived the idea and prepared the graph. LH wrote the draft of the letter, which MM and DD reviewed and edited.

• Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

• Competing interests None declared.

• Patient consent for publication Not required.

• Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.