Health inequalities gap must be tackled if Scotland’s health to benefit
For Immediate Release: 20 November 2007
Commenting on the publication today [20 November] of the Annual Report of Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer which says that although the health of Scots is improving “it is not improving fast enough for the poorest sections of our society”, Chief Executive of ASH Scotland, Maureen Moore OBE said more needed to be done to tackle Scotland’s health inequalities gap:
“The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) is absolutely right when he says that our poorest sections of society need to see more improvement in their health. The CMO rightly praises the ban on smoking in public places for the beneficial effects it is having on Scotland’s health, but whilst some parts of the country are benefiting from reduced smoking rates and getting the message about the harmful effects of smoking, more work must be done to reach those areas which are not feeling those positive effects.
“There are wide variances across
Scotland
in smoking rates with areas of
Glasgow
reaching above 40% and other areas of
Scotland
at half of that at less than 20%. It is not as easy as an east/west, north/south, or rural/urban divide. Both the lowest and highest rates of smoking are in the west of
Scotland
and urban areas can have lower rates than rural. What we are seeing is a growing divide in the rates of smoking between the deprived and affluent areas of
Scotland
and that is what must be tackled.
“More work and increased funding is needed to support the pioneering work that ASH
Scotland
and others are doing in tackling tobacco and inequalities and in providing cessation services. Smoking cessation is a health area that is still inadequately resourced, especially compared to other services, yet smoking is
Scotland
’s biggest preventable killer, with 24% of deaths caused by smoking every year. The NHS currently spends more than £200 million on treating tobacco-related illnesses every year, putting money into cessation services now, will reduce that bill in future years.
“The gap in smoking rates between
Scotland
’s most affluent and poorest communities points to a growing health inequalities gap in
Scotland
that must be dealt with.
Scotland
has made much progress in tackling tobacco and the damage to health it causes, however we want the benefits of this to be felt throughout all of
Scotland
’s communities, so its time to increase the funding of cessation services and reach those areas that are in most need”.
Maureen Moore is available for interview.
ENDS
For further information please contact: Jeanette Campbell 0131 220 9466
Editors notes:
ASH
Scotland
is the leading voluntary organisation campaigning for effective tobacco control measures.
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