Scots are the sick men and women of Europe according to a report revealing that only Portuguese men die younger, and that women come bottom of the EU health league.

The report, compiled by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, shows that levels of life expectancy in Scotland are similar to those the healthiest European countries were achieving in 1970. South of the border people are living between two and three years longer.

Last week a survey by the British Heart Foundation showed that women in Scotland were more likely to die of heart disease than their English counterparts, despite being more aware of the risks. While Scots men are starting to heed warnings about smoking, drinking, eating poorly and failing to exercise - the Rab C. Nesbitt image - women are failing to take action.

The stark outlook for the nation's health has prompted the Scottish Executive to take action. Tomorrow it will launch a £250 million, three-year initiative aimed at transforming the bleak prognosis.

Yet it is evident that the government has a mountain to climb in encouraging Scots to adopt healthier lifestyles. Even First Minister Jack McConnell has admitted that he did not eat vegetables for eight years and was struck down by a bowel disorder.

'I don't eat as healthily as I should but I am going to make a point of living a healthier lifestyle,' McConnell said recently.

His administration is determined that the rest of the country will also make an effort, and all Executive departments will now come together to promote health improvement.

A spokesman said: 'Health improvement is no longer being treated as a matter for the Health Department. Everyone will be concentrating on tackling illness. This is utterly new. We are coming at this from a different direction.'

People will be encouraged to lead healthier lives in the workplace and their communities, while a drive will be launched to teach children and teenagers that failing to exercise and eat well carries serious long-term risks.

The professor who led the investigation into Scotland's health in comparison with the rest of the world said improving lifestyles was the key to lengthening lifespans. 'Poor health in Scotland is caused by the behaviour of individuals. Smoking and poor diet are having a huge impact,' said David Leon. 'This report has caused people in public health to think twice about their approach.

'There are European nations that are poorer than Scotland which enjoy comparatively better health. Therefore, it is not sufficient just to explain Scotland's poor health status in a European context in terms of poverty.'

Several causes of death such as cancer of the oesophagus, liver cirrhosis and suicide in men became more common in Scotland in the 1990s, contrary to the downward trend seen in most other European countries.

Fewer lung cancer cases and a slight improvement in heart disease suggested that lessons were being learned and the researchers found other reasons to be positive. 'Scotland's health has not always been as bad compared with the rest of Europe as it is now. Therefore, there is nothing inevitable in its relative position,' added Professor Leon.

But the professor's research also showed that Scots perform poorly in terms of treatment outcomes.

Shadow Health Minister Nicola Sturgeon, of the Scottish National Party, yesterday claimed the number of patients waiting more than nine months for treatment had soared.

'It is hardly surprising that we are responding poorly to treatment when we have to wait so long for it,' she said.

Executive statistics showed that the proportion of inpatients waiting more than nine months for treatment was 8.3 per cent by September 2002. It was 4.3 per cent in June 1999.

'Patients across Scotland are being let down by an Executive that has failed to deliver,' said Sturgeon.