This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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A Breath of Fresh Air for Scotland
13/01/2004
A blueprint designed to rid Scotland of the ills of
smoking was launched today.
A Breath of Fresh Air for Scotland - the Executive's
Tobacco Control Action Plan contains a range of measures,
including:
- A consultation on smoking in public places
- An additional £4 million to help Scots stop
smoking;
- Action on prevention and education to be
supplemented by a communications program to inform
people of the dangers of smoking, both to themselves
and the people around them; and
- Further controls to reduce the availability of
cigarettes to our children and young people
Smoking is the single greatest preventable cause of
ill-health and premature death in this country, accounting
for more than 13,000 deaths and 33,500 hospital admissions
- at an estimated cost of £200 million each year.
Speaking at Glasgow City Chambers, Deputy Health
Minister Tom McCabe said:
"The plan sets out a range of measures on prevention and
education aimed at young people and key target groups.
There will also be more support for those who wish to quit,
including an injection of a further £4 million for
cessation services in the next couple of years, bringing
the total available funding to £7 million per annum by
2005/06.
"It is important to realise that smokers are not just
putting their own health at risk, but also those around
them and that is why we need to look again at the issue of
smoking in public places. NHS Health Scotland have produced
new TV ads, which will be screened over the next few months
to help raise public awareness of the risks associated with
second-hand smoke.
"Some progress has been made under the licensed
hospitality industry's Scottish Voluntary Charter on
Smoking in Public Places in increasing the number of
smoke-free areas in public places, but only 11 per cent of
businesses in the food and entertainment sector had
complied with all four of the Charter's requirements and
seven out of ten pubs in Scotland still allow smoking
throughout their premises.
"We recognise that many people would prefer to socialise
in a smoke-free environment and there is a need to extend
personal choice so we will be engaging in a widespread
public dialogue on the issue of smoking in public places in
order to map out the way ahead.
"Legislation is clearly an option, but so too is an
extension of the voluntary approach. However, we need to
have the backing of the Scottish people and through this
debate the public will get the chance to voice an opinion
on the issue. This is a consultation that will affect every
single person in Scotland, so everyone must have the
opportunity to be able to contribute.
"Helping people stop smoking should be about persuasion
and not coercion, but we are confident that the action set
out in today's plan will be a major step in moving towards
improving the health of the nation."
Lesley Hinds, Chair of NHS Health Scotland said:
"Many of our youngsters start smoking with no idea how
addictive it is. Before they know it, they're hooked and
can find it incredibly difficult to stop. We need to do
much more to discourage young people from ever smoking at
all, as well as helping all smokers who want to quit to
succeed. That is why smoking will remain at the centre of
NHS Health Scotland's work.
"Our existing initiatives focusing on young people and
our support for those who want to quit will be enhanced
over this year with new campaigns, a refreshed Smokeline
and support for work in schools, communities and in work
places. But in addition, the launch today of our new
campaign will help to open up public debate in Scotland on
the issue of passive smoking."
Maureen Moore from ASH Scotland said:
"We are delighted to see tobacco being taken seriously
in Scotland. Tobacco kills 13,000 Scots a year - more than
five times the total number killed by alcohol-related
illness, illegal drugs and accidents combined.
"We welcome the news that the Executive will invest £7
million per year in stop smoking services. With seven in
ten Scottish smokers wanting to quit, it's vital that the
support is there for them to succeed. Scotland's excellent
stop-smoking services have been struggling to meet demand,
and we need to make sure that their future is secure, to
help as many Scots as possible to quit.
"The decision to consult on smoking in public places and
the commitment from Ministers to listen should be welcomed.
We know that Scotland's health organizations, and large
sections of the public, will support legislation on smoke
free places.
Chief Medical Officer Mac Armstrong said:
"The number of lives lost and the amount of money the
NHS is forced to spend on treating smoking-related
illnesses is staggering and my hope is that this action
plan will address the problem in the long term by making
people more aware of the damage they're doing
themselves.
"The Action Plan builds on the achievements of the
'Smoking Kills' White Paper, published five years ago and
I'd like to thank NHS Health Scotland and ASH Scotland for
the recommendations they've made, which the Action Plan
will now implement. The way forward for Scotland is now
clear."
The Action Plan is based upon a comprehensive report
by NHS Health Scotland and ASH Scotland, 'Reducing Smoking
and Tobacco-related Harm in Scotland - a key to
transforming Scotland's health', which is also published
today. Key facts from the report include:
* 24 per cent of girls and 16 per cent of boys are
regular smokers by the time the 16 and many are already
addicted to nicotine;
* A quarter of women smoke during pregnancy with
serious consequences for their childrens' health;
* Smoking is one of the main reasons why people
living in disadvantaged areas in Scotland have poorer
health and die younger.
This report can be found at:
http://www.hebs.com/services/pubs/pubtitles.cfm?TC=1567
It is planned that the consultation on smoking in public
places will begin in summer 2004. This is a consultation
that will affect every single person in Scotland and needs,
therefore, to be promoted as widely as possible and
Internet access points that the Scottish Executive has
funded will be available to use on-line submission. To find
out where your nearest access point is, phone 0800 77 1234
or log onto
www.openscotland.gov.uk.
Around 1.2 million people in Scotland smoke - 30 per
cent of the adult population. While smoking rates have been
going down in recent years among the more affluent, they
have changed little in the most disadvantaged areas.
It is estimated that at least 20-25 per cent of all
deaths in Scotland result from smoking. Scotland has the
highest rates of lung cancer in Europe for both men and
women, with most cases caused by smoking.
Over the last three years, smoking cessation services
have been developed by the NHS in every part of Scotland.
These give smokers access to nicotine replacement therapy
and other support to help them quit. One of the main aims
of the Action Plan is to achieve a major expansion of these
services.