MPs have warned the government of the immense harm being done by Britain's woeful epidemic of gambling. The House of Commons’ Health and Social Care Committee has warned of the “serious harm” gambling can cause “financially, physically, mentally, and in some cases as a cause of suicide”.

In a letter to the Department of Health and Social Care, the Committee’s Chairwoman Layla Moran MP urged the Government to review the Gambling Act 2005, in light of the Committee’s recent evidence session on gambling-related harms.

She noted that although 80 per cent of the population are exposed to gambling advertising each week, it has still not been banned before the watershed, and problem gamblers also feel “there is no escape”.

Moran said the evidence the Committee heard “emphasised how prevalent and normalised gambling has become in society”, and it was “disappointing to hear” that the current preventative approach is solely through the gambling levy and “not through regulation”.

She called for strengthened rules to ensure that adverts “do not contain elements designed to appeal to children and young people”, along with further restrictions on sport sponsorships.

The Chairwoman highlighted that “there is not enough awareness” of gambling’s dangers in the general population, calling for a public information campaign of “all the possible harms” as well as training for coroners on gambling-related suicide.

In conclusion, she stated that the “Government should review the Gambling Act to ensure that the current legislative framework gives all agencies the power and responsibilities needed to deliver a total system response”.

32-year-old Stephen Kerr told the BBC how he has lost “thousands” of pounds since he became hooked on gambling at 15 years old.

Kerr, who now uses social media to help other problem gamblers, said his bets “started off small and just kept growing and growing”.

He emphasised: “Don’t suffer in silence, reach out, but reach out to the right people, be it to gamblers anonymous groups or somebody going through recovery online. Don’t wait to hit rock bottom for every rock bottom is a trap door”.

In another body blow to America's most deadly abort-for-profit corporation, a budget bill that includes the defunding of Planned Parenthood passed on Sunday night.

The treatment of a north country teenager has highlighted the extent of trans madness in English football - although at least this case does have a happy ending. It all started when the girl dared to ask a bearded opponent in a female football match if he was a man.

The sponsor of the Assisted Suicide Bill appeared to go into hiding on Friday as her deeply flawed effort was savaged by a succession of MPs during the Report Stage. hearing. MP Simon Hoare suggested Kim Leadbeater’s absence was “a discourtesy to the House” as she vanished for about 45 minutes.

Kim Leadbeater’s increasingly unpopular assisted suicide Bill has been dealt another blow after the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) announced it cannot support it.

One of the so-called safeguards in the legislation is that applications for assisted suicide will be dealt with by a three-person panel including a lawyer, a social worker, and a psychiatrist. This was only introduced because the judiciary said High Court involvement was not practical.

Now, ahead of today’s debate in the House of Commons, Dr Lade Smith, the President of the RCPsych, has announced that despite the psychiatrists’ professional body’s official stance remaining ‘neutral’, it cannot support the Bill “as it stands”, and urged MPs to prevent the “inadequate” proposals from becoming law.

In a statement, RCPsych outlined a number of concerns, and said that “Assisted dying/Assisted suicide (AD/AS) is not a treatment”, adding: “AD/AS does not aim to improve a person’s health and its intended consequence is death. The Bill does not specify whether AD/AS is considered a treatment option and this ambiguity has major implications in law in England and Wales. Should this Bill proceed, it should be explicit that AD/AS is not a treatment option.”

It also highlighted that terminal illness is a known risk factor for suicide, and questioned what role a psychiatrist would play on the three-person panel, explaining: “If this Bill proceeds in England and Wales, any role a psychiatrist plays in an AD/AS process should be consistent with the core duties of the profession, including determining whether a person’s wish to die can be remedied or treated.”

It added that “there are not enough consultant psychiatrists to do what the Bill asks”, and that this is compounded by the fact some psychiatrists will choose to conscientiously object – a right that RCPscyh said must be strengthened.

“Professionals must be able to conscientiously object to involvement in any part of the process: We are pleased to see that the Bill no longer requires medical professionals who do not wish to be involved to refer a person to another clinician, but they are still required to signpost patients to information on AD/AS. For some psychiatrists who wish to conscientiously object, this would constitute being involved in the AD/AS process.”

While MSPs and the liberal pro-death lobby are cockahoop over this week's Holyrood vote in favour of assisted suicide, two heartening satatistics show that public support for the measure is in fact extremely flimsy.

A new study has revealed that initial support for the Bill is highest among 45-54 year olds with 83 per cent of those surveyed in favour of it. The lowest level of initial support was found to be among people aged 18-24 at 69 per cent. Having such a gap between younger and older voters is a good sign for the future.

Even better, the poll found that two thirds of Scots oppose assisted suicide when they consider how it operates in practice and think about the arguments against it.

The pollsters said that support for assisted suicide among the general population falls to just 19 per cent when those taking part are presented with 10 arguments against assisted dying, including facts about how it operates overseas.

The study found that among those who initially support assisted suicide, only 25 per cent continued to do so after considering the arguments against.

It was a dark day for Scotland yesterday as MSPs at Holyrood voted by 70 votes to 56 in favour of the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill.

Kim Leadbeater, who is leading the push to impose state-sanctioned murder on England and Wales as well, said she is “pleased” that the Scottish Parliament has backed the general principles for assisted dying.

Ms Leadbeater, the MP behind the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, said there are injustices in the current ban on assisted dying, adding that MSPs had “listened to the voices of those with personal experience of those injustices”.

Public opinion continues to swing against the Assisted Suicide Bill, which is set to be voted on today in the Scottish Parliament.