This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Funding to help Scots stop smoking
18/09/2003
An extra £1 million of funding to extend smoking
cessation services was announced today.
Opening a debate in Parliament - Rising to
the Challenge of Improving Scotland's Health - Health
Minister Malcolm Chisholm said:
"The biggest thing a smoker can to do improve the
health of their heart is to kick the habit.
Stopping smoking can also greatly reduce the risk of
strokes and cancer.
"I know that smoking is an addiction and
recognise that there can be complex reasons for
maintaining this habit and the Executive wishes to
support people to take positive action to stop
smoking.
"That is why we are investing an additional £1
million per annum through NHS Boards to further expand
smoking cessation services, particularly in our most
disadvantaged communities. Services such as
nicotine replacement therapy and counselling will be
targeted at pregnant women, young people and low income
groups in these areas."
Smoking was one issue the Minister touched on in a
wide-ranging speech during the all-day debate.
He said:
"There have been successes in improvingScotland's health, for example, premature deaths from
coronary heart disease and mortality rates from cancer are
continuing to decline. The simple fact however, is
thatScotland's health is not improving fast enough.
"We are taking ambitious actions to effect real
change because we know that health is simply not improving
fast enough. To change health, we need to change
the factors which influence health such as child poverty,
employment, housing, and the environment.
"The cross-cutting nature of the health improvement
agenda means that so much of what we do impacts positively
on health improvement. For example, development of
the new social housing standard and work to tackle fuel
poverty will help our commitment to eradicate dampness in
social housing - and that is good for health.
"We are tackling poverty by promoting opportunities
to participate in the economic life ofScotland. The best way out of poverty is through work
and we are working to improve
Scotland's skill base through programmes like Education
Maintenance Allowances, Modern Apprenticeships and Training
for Work.
He explained how the Executive aimed to creating
the conditions for people to make positive lifestyle
changes:
"The Executive's Partnership Agreement makes a strong
commitment to long-term and sustainable improvements
inScotland's health for all our people, while particularly
targeting those who are most vulnerable and disadvantaged.
We are stepping up action on health improvement: tackling
alcohol abuse; improving diet; reducing smoking; promoting
balanced, health lifestyles, better mental health and
well-being; and piloting Personal Health Plans and men's
health services."
Commenting on the national Health Demonstration
Projects, Mr Chisholm said:
"Have a Heart Paisley, Starting Well and Healthy
Respect - are proving a valuable testing ground for action
to achieve improvements in child health, sexual health and
well-being for young people and coronary heart disease=20
and we have committed to a second phase for the
projects. We expect valuable learning from the work
done so far,
which will be captured, disseminated and
shared through new National Learning Networks."
Mr Chisholm concluded:
"The Health Improvement Challenge is one which we
must meet for the sake of this and future
generations. We must act together to achieve the
healthier lives which Scotland's people so richly deserve
and ensure that future generations experience a better qua
lity of life with positive health achieved through
healthy lifestyles and positive life circumstances."The Procedures Committee looked at the founding
principles of theScottish Parliament and suggested that subject
debates should be introduced on trial basis. This would
allow MSPs to discuss important issues on a less party
political basis.
Each NHS Board will receive an allocation of
£10,000. The aim of this is
to give a significant boost to smaller NHS Board
areas. The remaining money will be allocated to NHS
Boards based on the Arbuthnott formula.