History of the coalition

SCOT, the Scottish Coalition on Tobacco, was formed in 2004 from the merger of two existing groups.

The Scottish Cancer Coalition on Tobacco (SCCOT) was formed in 1999 as an alliance between ASH Scotland and the leading national cancer charities dedicated to cancer reserach and education and to cancer patient care. Membership of SCCOT comprised ASH Scotland, Cancer BACUP, Imperial Cancer Research Fund, Macmillan Cancer Relief, Marie Curie Cancer Care, the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation and the Cancer Research Campaign.

SCCOT provided a forum to jointly advise and inform the Scottish Parliament and to raise awareness of the links between cancer and tobacco use by promoting effective smoking prevention and cessation strategies. SCCOT was instrumental in establishing the Scottish Parliament Cross Party Group on Tobacco Control as a forum for parliamentarians to discuss tobacco control issues with health professionals and charities.

Scotland CAN! (Cleaner Air Now!) was founded by ASH Scotland in May 2000 to campaign for legislation to restrict smoking in Scotland's public places. The launch of Scotland CAN! followed the public announcement of an initiative which relied upon a voluntary approach to controlling second-hand smoke (SHS), and which was promoted by government and the hospitality trade.

In November 2004, Scotland CAN! merged with SCCOT under the wider umbrellan of the SCOT coalition. Scotland CAN! redefined its aim, to raise public awareness of the harmful health impacts of SHS, to lobby for legislation to increase protection from SHS and to work towards extending clean air environments in Scotland.

As the campaigning arm of SCOT, Scotland CAN! was instrumental in bringing about the smoke-free legislation within the Smoking, Health and Social Care Act 2005. The comprehensive ban on smoking in Scotland's enclosed public places came into effect in March 2006, representing an enormous step forward in public health policy.

Page updated 5th December 2008