Lifting the smoke screen on economic inactivity

Across Europe, governments are increasingly preoccupied with the challenge of economic inactivity, defined by the International Labour Organisation as the condition of not being in, seeking, or available for work.1 Shaped by regional disparities in labour market demand, productivity and economic growth, prevalence is unequally distributed across places and populations, reflecting entrenched socioeconomic inequalities in Europe's most disadvantaged regions.2 Health and health care inequalities are significant risk factors for labour market absence with long-term conditions the leading cause of economic inactivity in the G7.3 In this issue, Jackson et al.4 foreground the challenge of health-related economic inactivity (HREI), unpacking the complex bi-directionality of intersections between behaviours, structural exclusion and health outcomes by focussing on a modifiable risk factor: tobacco smoking.