5 July 2007
Today NHS Health Scotland, Information Services Division (ISD) and ASH Scotland publish "An Atlas of Tobacco Smoking in Scotland" - a report which provides the most detailed statistics ever available about smoking in Scotland, including smoking prevalence and smoking related mortality.
The Atlas of Tobacco Smoking in Scotland provides a wide range of information related to smoking in Scotland. Smoking was Scotland’s biggest single cause of premature death in 2004. In that year, 13,500 people died in Scotland as a consequence of smoking, representing nearly one quarter of all deaths (24%).
Dr. David Gordon, Head of Public Health Observatory Division at Health Scotland, explains:
“The purpose of the Scottish atlas is to help local smoking prevention and stop smoking services plan their work to best suit the needs of local communities. It will be a valuable tool for everyone involved in tackling Scotland’s biggest killer.”
Commenting on the publication of An Atlas of Tobacco Smoking in Scotland, the ASH Scotland Chief Executive, Maureen Moore OBE said:
“The Atlas of Tobacco Smoking in Scotland is to be welcomed as a resource that can be used by everyone involved in, and interested in, tobacco control in Scotland. As an aid to health professionals working in prevention, education and cessation, the Atlas will be invaluable at highlighting the areas where smoking rates and the associated health risks of smoking are highest.
The Atlas of Tobacco Smoking in Scotland also shows a lot of work still needs to be done to tackle smoking. It shows a wide difference in the rates of smoking between the deprived and affluent areas of Scotland. Our politicians can use ‘An Atlas of Tobacco Smoking in Scotland’ to assess the impact that smoking is having on the health of our nation and the number of deaths caused by smoking. By tackling smoking and reducing the numbers who smoke, we can improve the health of people, increase the life expectancy of our nation, and reduce the impact of smoking related disease on the NHS.”
The atlas uses data from the 2003/04 Scottish Household Survey and the 2001 Census. The data is used to create a statistical model, which enables estimates to be made of the number of smokers in each small area.
Dr. David Gordon explains further:
“Like most statistics, these estimates have a margin of uncertainty around them, which means any ranking of local areas will only be approximate. The statistics are presented in detail to give maximum information to local services, but services should interpret them using their own local knowledge.”
The atlas shows that the greatest numbers of smokers are found in deprived areas. If you split Scotland into five areas, 41% of adults smoke in the most deprived fifth, while in the least deprived fifth only 12% smoke. North and East Glasgow Community Health and Care Partnerships both have 37.5% of their adult population smoking - nearly 70,000 people combined.
However, affluent areas also contain substantial numbers of smokers. East Dunbartonshire and East Renfrewshire Community Health Partnerships have smoking rates below 20% but still have nearly 30,000 smokers between them.
The Scottish parliamentary constituency with the highest smoking rate is Glasgow Shettleston, with 40%, and the lowest is Eastwood with 19%.
It is worth noting that statistical models of this kind can only be used to look at a single point in time, not at trends. However, surveys show that adult smoking has continued to reduce in Scotland, from 27% in 2004 to 25% in 2006 (Scottish Household Survey, 2006).
ENDS
For more information, please contact:
Paula Fletcher, Communications Manager at Health Scotland on 0131 536 5551. David Gordon, co-author of the report is available for interview.
Jeanette Campbell at ASH Scotland on 0131 220 9466. Dr. Rachel Harrison, co-author of the report is also available for interview.
Notes for editors
1 The atlas is published online on 5 July and in print by Health Scotland.
2. Stop smoking services are available across Scotland and offer a range of options including one-to-one and group support and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), e.g. patches, to help people overcome nicotine addiction. In 2006, 46,466 people used NHS stop smoking services and 34% were not smoking after a month - for information see: http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/4725.html
3. The midspan studies by Glasgow University show that people who were middle-aged smokers in the mid-1970s have died, on average, 3.5 years younger than those who were non-smokers (including ex-smokers).
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