Policy Summit to discuss tobacco and alcohol – twin causes of misery in Scottish society

01 March 2011

Please note the figures relating to death have been updated to the most recent and accurate available: 13,321 toabcco related deaths and 1,282 alcohol-related deaths.

A major policy summit is to be held in Edinburgh that will bring together experts and health professionals from the two biggest public health issues that Scotland currently deals with. The Tobacco and Alcohol Policy Summit, which is to be held on 15 March, will also bring together the health spokespeople from five political parties for a question time style debate on these two important issues. The event which has been organised by ASH Scotland and Alcohol Focus Scotland with support from Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems, will be chaired by health journalist Pennie Taylor.

Pointing to the 14,603 deaths caused by alcohol and tobacco and the joint costs to Scotland of £4.6 billion, ASH Scotland Chief Executive Sheila Duffy said it was time for the two sectors to find out what they could learn from each other:

 

“Tobacco and alcohol use creates some of the biggest public health problems in Scotland. “Tobacco consumption causes a quarter of all adult deaths and 15,000 young Scots take up the habit every year; and deaths caused by alcohol have doubled over the last twenty years. Alcohol misuse costs Scotland around £3.53 billion every year and tobacco costs at least £1.1 billion. To really tackle Scotland’s health inequalities we must tackle these twin causes of much misery in Scottish society.

 

“Both alcohol and tobacco have also contributed hugely to Scotland’s widening health inequalities gap. Tobacco use is highest in our deprived areas with 43% of adults smoking compared to 9% in the least deprived. This is reflected in higher rates of disease and early death with 32% of deaths in Scotland’s most deprived areas due to smoking compared to 15% in the most affluent. Equally people living in the most deprived areas are five times more likely to die an alcohol-related death than those in least deprived areas with alcohol deaths for men increasing by 500% in the last twenty years in disadvantaged areas.

 

“With alcohol and tobacco having so much in common in the harms they cause, ASH Scotland and Alcohol Focus Scotland are hosting this Summit so we can listen to the experiences from each sector and learn lessons on where we can be effective in continuing to reduce the impact of alcohol and tobacco on Scotland’s people. We will also look at shared experiences in campaigning, how we deal with two huge profit-driven very well organised industries which have as their foundation the drive to sell more of their products; and what can we do to provide solutions to reducing the problems caused by tobacco and alcohol.

 

“As we stand at the brink of challenging cuts and public service reform, our society may be changing but the problems Scotland’s public health faces every day remain. Tobacco and alcohol misuse have a major negative impact on health, contribute to our widening health inequalities gap; and cause many social ills. We can learn from each other how to tackle them more effectively.”

 

Dr Evelyn Gillan, Chief Executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland said the participation of delegates and hearing from policymakers would also be important parts of the day:

 

“Our policy summit will hear from a number of eminent speakers who are experts in the fields of tobacco and alcohol and we will also hear a ministerial address from Nicola Sturgeon MSP. Importantly this Summit is a chance for delegates to ask questions and take part in panel debates and discussion to develop recommendations we can take forward to the Scottish Government after the May elections.

 

“Those attending the Summit will also get a chance to directly question policy makers on what they will do to tackle tobacco and alcohol in the next Scottish Parliament. Scotland’s five biggest parties will be represented at the Summit, which is just seven weeks before the Holyrood elections, and this will be an opportunity to hear what their policy proposals are to reduce the huge number of deaths and disease that tobacco and alcohol cause.

 

“I hope that closer joint working between those working to reduce the harm caused by alcohol and tobacco now will help us develop more collaborative policy solutions and recommendations for the Scottish Government in the future. At this time of change for the third sector and the public sector, we need to do all we can to share our knowledge, innovation, and practices and maximise our impacts. It’s a new way of working for all of us but we expect it to be a fruitful collaboration, and one that will benefit Scotland’s public health.”