State of the Nation

State of the Nation: Measuring progress towards a tobacco-free Scotland is a major report from ASH Scotland which examines Scotland’s achievements over the past decade to reduce the harm caused by smoking and considers what still needs to be done.

The report concludes that tobacco control has been a real success story in Scotland since devolution, with successive Scottish governments aiming to address Scotland’s public health record and reduce the quarter of all adult deaths caused by tobacco. It recognises that whilst major progress has been made over the past decade much more needs to be done, especially to provide long term benefits to both the health and economy of Scotland.  One particular area of concern is the prevalence of smoking in deprived areas especially as it is a key contributor to low life expectancy.

Download State of the Nation: Measuring progress towards a tobacco-free Scotland here (PDF 573KB)

The conclusions of the State of the Nation report are that:

•  Youth smoking is reducing from a peak of 30% of 15 year olds being regular smokers in 1996 to 15% in 2008 and there is now a majority of Scottish 15 year olds who report never having smoked. The action points within Scotland’s current smoking prevention plan are essential if this trend is to continue.
   
•  Smoking amongst young adults aged16-24 is mixed. After a decline between 1999 and 2004, the figure rose in 2007 and now stands at the current 28% (2008). Work needs to be done to address the problems stop-smoking services often have in engaging young smokers.
   
• Adult smoking remains high though significant progress has been made in reducing smoking rates from 31% in 1999 to 24% in 2009. However this is short of the Scottish Government target of 22% by 2010. In addition whilst 69% of smokers say they would like to quit, only 34% of smokers say they have received an offer of support. Progress in helping those who want support is necessary and this must be done through a variety of different routes within our public health services.
   
• Smoking and poverty are clearly linked. In the most deprived 10% of areas, smoking rates were 45% in 2008, while in the least deprived areas rates were as low as 11%. Smoking remains a major contributor to the low life expectancy in deprived areas, yet the target to reduce smoking in deprived areas was dropped in favour of general adult smoking prevalence. There are now no targets or measures to reduce smoking in Scotland's deprived communities where prevalence is high.
   
• Too little is known about tobacco use in different groups of the population in Scotland. This needs to be addressed if Scotland is to competently track progress and target services appropriately.
   
• The reduction in smoking among pregnant women has been relatively successful. The Scottish Government target to reduce the percentage of pregnant women who smoke from 29% in 1995 to 20% by 2010 was met in 2008, with figures reducing to 19.2%. However again in deprived areas, smoking in pregnancy is significantly higher with 30% of pregnant women in the most deprived areas recorded as smoking, compared to 6.7% of those living in the least deprived areas.

The image and graphs used in the State of the Nation report are available below. If reproducing these graphs please credit ASH Scotland.

Source:Taulbut, M. Gordon, D and McKenzie, K.Tobacco smoking in Scotland: an epidemiology briefing. Edinburgh: NHS Health Scotland and Scottish Public Health Observatory. 2008.

Source: Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance use Survey (SALSUS) National Report: Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among 13 and 15 year olds in Scotland in 2008. Edinburgh: Drug Misuse Information Scotland.

Source: Scottish Household Survey Project Team. Smoking prevalence 16-24 year olds by gender (new weighting). 11 February 2010. Communities Analytical Services, Scottish Government.

 Source: Scottish Government. Scotland’s People - Annual report: results from 2007/2008 Scottish Household Survey. 2009.

Source: Self-reported one month quits required to meet the HEAT 6 target, and those actually achieved, by NHS board (21 months to end December 2009). National Smoking Cessation Database, managed by ISD Scotland; plus local information systems in Greater Glasgow & Clyde.   Data as at 7th April 2010.

Source:  Galbraith L, Munoz-Arroyo R, Hecht G. NHS Smoking Cessation Service Statistics (Scotland) 1st January to 31st December 2009. 25 May 2010. ScotPHO.
 

 Source: Information Services Division Scotland. Smoking at booking statistics from SMR02. 2008.

Source: All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc.  Total sample size was 1206 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 17th and 22nd March 2010.  The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all adults in Scotland (aged 18+).