26 September 2007
In her last major speech before her retirement at the end of 2007, Maureen Moore OBE, Chief Executive of ASH Scotland called for more ambition and vision from the Scottish Government and MSPs when it comes to Scotland becoming a smoke-free country and for more work to be done to achieve this. In a speech at ASH Scotland’s AGM today [26 September], Maureen reflected on her twelve years as Chief Executive of ASH Scotland and how the organisation had been built up over the years and now has more staff offering more services.
Maureen also reviewed the campaign for smoke-free legislation and the positive differences that the ban on smoking in public places has made to Scotland as shown in recently publicised research studies. And she used her speech to urge people to continue to work on tobacco control and reduce the numbers of families that were affected by bereavement and illness due to smoking. In an extract from her speech, Maureen said:
“There are of course some things that the smoke-free legislation cannot and does not do. It does not protect smokers from the harmful dangers of smoking. It doesn’t stop teenagers and children from trying cigarettes and becoming addicted to tobacco at a young age. It doesn’t help the 70% of smokers who say they want to quit to do so, although it can act as an impetus for them. It cannot ensure that cessation services are adequately resourced, and available and accessible to all, especially young people, pregnant women, or in areas of deprivation. And it does not stop smoking remaining Scotland’s biggest preventable killer.
“Which is why there is still much work to be done in tobacco control. So at my last AGM as Chief Executive I urge you to continue to work hard to move Scotland from having one of the highest rates of deaths due to smoking in the EU to the lowest. I want the thirteen and a half thousand deaths in Scotland that are due to smoking every year to be reduced to next to nothing. Instead of tobacco being responsible for 24% of deaths I want it to be unusual. Instead of thousands of people having to cope with bereavement and the tobacco-related illnesses of their loved ones, I want families and our public to live longer, richer, fuller lives not see mums, dads, children, sisters and brothers die ten, twenty or thirty years before they should.
“The NHS can add up its expenditure on smoking each year and show the £200 million spent on treating the effects of tobacco. It is not so easy to calculate the economic costs of those illnesses and early deaths as people are taken out of the workforce and away from contributing financially to their family. And of course the human cost is immeasurable.
“Other countries have raised their sights and are aspiring to become smoke-free and protect and support their citizens from this deadly drug. New Zealand is already a world leader in tobacco control backing up policies with funding to tackle smoking. At the beginning of the month campaigners in New Zealand called for their country to be cigarette free within ten years.
“As part of the campaign to do this, some of the action they want taken is to remove retail displays, introduce plain packaged cigarettes, increase the tax on tobacco products, and provide more support for people quitting. Their call was echoed by health organisations in Australia who said that if there was commitment from the government, their country could also be smoke-free within a decade.
“So why not our country? Why can’t we also have the vision and ambition and respect for our public health to want the same for Scotland?
“It is in the power of our government and in the hands of our MSPs. If they really want the best for Scotland, if they really want to see us flourish as a nation and to be a healthier and fairer society, if they really want to take a courageous step that could save thousands from early deaths and illnesses, then let’s see our parliament and devolution really work for our nation and our people.
“Let’s have a celebration of the 73% of Scots who don’t smoke and encourage others to join them. Let’s see an increase in funding for cessation services so that they are available and accessible to all with enough fully trained staff to meet demand. Let’s acknowledge that smoking is an addiction and it can be hard to give up but the support is there for those who want to. Let’s have more preventative and awareness work going on in our schools. Let’s see full backing from the government and other parties to remove cigarettes from their current highly visible point of sale to out of sight sales and for a positive licensing scheme for the sale of tobacco so that the 16 to 18 age rise can actually be enforced and that there are deterrents as well as penalties for repeat offenders. And let’s see a crack down on those rogue traders who continually peddle cigarettes to people underage and protect and congratulate those retailers who say no.
“As the Scottish Government work towards a smoking prevention strategy next spring, let’s see them state outright that they want Scotland to become a smoke-free society and they will provide all the necessary support, funding, and legislation to do so."
ENDS
For further information please contact: Jeanette Campbell or ASH Scotland on 0131 225 4725
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