The 2018 Year of Young People can help create a tobacco-free generation

20th December 2017

New Year is a time when many people decide to quit smoking to make a positive difference to their health, their family’s health, and their personal finances.

ASH Scotland has made available a series of written quotes, short audio clips and short video clips on that theme for use in media outlets over the New Year period, which will see the start of the Year of Young People.

The pre-recorded clips from ASH Scotland Chief Executive Sheila Duffy cover the topics of making a New Year’s resolution to stop smoking, taking smoking right outside to create a smokefree home, looking back at a successful 2017, while looking forward to the Year of Young People in 2018, which will see a new tobacco control strategy which takes Scotland closer to creating a tobacco-free generation.

Sheila Duffy, Chief Executive of ASH Scotland, said:

2018 – Year of Young People

“2018 is the year of young people in Scotland and ASH Scotland is keen to put smoking out of sight, out of mind and out of fashion for the next generation. We want to spread the message that buying tobacco for young people isn’t doing them any favours because it is leading them into addiction, money worries and health worries.

“Support the #notafavour campaign by visiting notafavour.scot and think about how you can help create a tobacco-free generation in Scotland.”

On New Year’s resolutions:

“This is a time of year when people are thinking about making fresh starts for the New Year and I’d like to encourage smokers to consider stopping smoking for their 2018 resolution.

“Help is out there. You can look up Quit Your Way Scotland, call the Freephone number on 0800 84 84 84, or drop into your local pharmacy and they’ll be happy to give you advice. There is no one way to quit smoking that will work for every smoker – it’s important to think about what works for you.

“Don’t be discouraged if you’ve tried to quit before. It can often take a number of attempts to quit but it is the best thing you can do for your health, finances, and those around you.”

Stress/Take it right outside:

“Over two thirds of the adult smokers in Scotland say that they wish they had never started smoking. 2018 could be your year to succeed in quitting.

“You can get support from those around you, your local pharmacy or Quit Your Way Scotland. Think about the benefits of stopping smoking – you can save a lot of money, improve your health, and improve the health of those around you.

“If you’re not ready to quit smoking at this point there are still positive things that you can do. You can decide to make your house smokefree by taking it right outside or you can decide not to buy tobacco for, or give tobacco to, young people.”

2017/2018

“Looking back over 2017, there have been some encouraging developments in terms of reducing tobacco use in Scotland. Most forms of cigarettes and hand rolled tobacco now come in plain packs – drab, unappealing and with unattractive health warnings which aim to make the packaging more truthful and put children and young people off a product which we know is lethal.

“We have seen an encouraging reduction in the number of children being exposed to second-hand smoke at home. I am pleased that people are choosing to Take It Right Outside and make their homes smoke-free.

“Next year I’d like to see a bold new tobacco strategy for Scotland which puts tobacco out of sight, out of mind and out of fashion for the next generation.”

Videos can be viewed here:

Audio recordings can be downloaded from Dropbox here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zto07ky7a1ki7ip/AAD8MzKd5Dva3jmLAzhF1npca?dl=0

Summaries are:

Year of Young People (0:41): 2018 is the year of young people in Scotland and ASH Scotland is keen to put smoking out of sight, out of mind and out of fashion for the next generation. As part of that, we want to spread the message that buying tobacco for young people isn’t doing them any favours because it is leading them into addiction, money worries and health worries. We owe that to the next generation. Support the #notafavour campaign by visiting notafavour.scot and think about how you can help create a tobacco-free generation in Scotland.
Looking to 2018 (1:56): 2018 is a new year and it brings new opportunities. One of the things that ASH Scotland is looking towards is the new national tobacco strategy for Scotland which should be published in Spring 2018. We would like to see it contain bold measures to press forward in terms of the progress that’s been made to date on smoking and tobacco. We want to see a continued focus on making it unlikely that children will take up smoking, putting it out of sight, out of mind and out of fashion. We want to see continued support for adult smokers that want to quit, and a growing awareness that no one method that works for everyone – people should be encouraged to think about what works best for them and supported to do that. We know there is some really good expert advice out there, such as Quit Your Way Scotland and local pharmacies and services. We need to continue to raise awareness of second-hand smoke as an issue – it’s a toxic substance that harms health and there are particular risks to children and infants. We need to continue to find ways to reduce people’s exposure and encourage smokers to Take It Right Outside. In 2018, ASH Scotland is running a campaign called #notafavour – we are raising awareness that it isn’t doing young people a favour to buy them tobacco, or give them tobacco. It leads them into addiction, ill health and money worries.
Quitting smoking (1:01): This is a time of year when people are thinking about making fresh starts for the new year and I’d like to encourage smokers to consider stopping smoking for their 2018 resolution. Help is out there – you can look up Quit Your Way Scotland, call the Freephone number on 0800 84 84 84, or drop into your local pharmacy and they’ll be happy to give you advice. There is no one way to quit smoking that will work for every smoker – it’s important to think about what works for you. Don’t be discouraged if you’ve tried to quit before. It can often take a number of attempts to quit but it is the best thing you can do for your health, finances, and those around you.
2017 review (1:11): Looking back over 2017, there have been some really encouraging developments in terms of reducing tobacco use in Scotland. Most forms of cigarettes and hand rolled tobacco now come in plain packs – drab, unappealing and with unattractive health warnings which aim to make the packaging more truthful and put children and young people off a product which we know is lethal. We have seen an encouraging reduction in the number of children being exposed to second-hand smoke at home – important because of tobacco’s toxicity and children and young people are particularly at risk. I am pleased to see that people are choosing to Take It Right Outside and make their homes smoke-free. Also, in 2017 we saw new legislation for smoke-free vehicles, where under 18s are present. This is another step in protecting children’s right to health and protecting them from toxic tobacco smoke. Next year I’d like to see a bold new tobacco strategy for Scotland which puts tobacco out of sight, out of mind and out of fashion for the next generation.
Take It Right Outside (1:20): Over two thirds of the adult smokers in Scotland say that they wish they had never started smoking. 2018 could be your year to succeed in quitting, but if you have tried to quit smoking before, and it hasn’t worked, what did you learn from that attempt? What is it that cigarettes and smoking give you, and are there other things that could be put in its place? You can get support from those around you, your local pharmacy or Quit Your Way Scotland. Think about the benefits of stopping smoking – you can save a lot of money, improve your health, and improve the health of those around you. Don’t be put off because it can take a number of attempts to quit smoking successfully. If you’re not ready to quit smoking at this point there are still positive things that you can do. You can decide to make your house smokefree by taking it right outside or you can decide not to buy tobacco for, or give tobacco to, young people.

ENDS

For further information please contact ASH Scotland on 0131 225 4725 or enquiries@ashscotland.org.uk Out of hours mobile 07776 142 299