 your risk of premature death or dying early is right around smoking a little bit less than a pack of cigarettes a day. Because Diane, what we now know, since this was presented to the president in a task force in 1978, is that loneliness is linked to multiple chronic illnesses, such as your risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, infectious disease, hypertension, and mental illness. One researcher said, and I quote, loneliness as a fertilizer