Help to Stub Out Smoking

June 2nd, 2008

Although it’s only been two years since smoking in public places was banned, the idea of sitting in the pub or café with a cigarette now seems strange.

Dramatic as this culture shift has been, however, it was the easy bit.  Smoking still kills nearly 37 people a day and, if we want to cut these numbers, we need to make sure we’re actually addressing the problem, not just moving it around.

There are two strands to this: helping smokers kick the deadly habit; and stopping young people taking it up in the first place.

My own battle to raise the minimum age for buying tobacco to 18 was an attempt to strike a blow for latter and the Scottish Government has now published plans to build on this.

Their moves - which include banning cigarettes from public display, educating children about the dangers of smoking and looking at putting cigarettes in plain packaging - are doubtless well-intentioned.  Whether or not they work, though, remains to be seen.

But, in the shorter-term, smokers need proper help to give up.  Here in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area, we have the highest smoking rate in Scotland, with the fatal habit accounting for one in three deaths among 35 to 59-year-olds.  And the damage is inflicted disproportionately in deprived areas.

If the Scottish government is serious about taking action on this, it needs to attach as much importance to accessible, effective smoking cessation services as it does to eye-catching prevention initiatives.