Costs of smoking

We need to talk about smoking and poverty

ASH Scotland and the Poverty Alliance are exploring how we can support better collaboration between public health and anti-smoking interests. There are both health and economic costs to smoking, and this harm largely falls on people in disadvantaged groups who say that they want to quit. Smoking undermines the goals of both public health and anti-poverty groups, so we would like to encourage more joint working to reduce the impact of smoking in Scotland.

Our new report summarises a series of interviews and focus groups with anti-poverty organisations, and includes various recommendations for improving the language and assumptions we use to help health and anti-poverty interests find common ground. For more information download the summary report (4 pages) or the full report (28 pages).

Help to approach the subject of smoking in money advice settings

A pilot project carried out between 2014-2016 working with money advice services in Glasgow found that staff were keen to help clients to save money by stopping smoking, but were concerned about how they could raise this issue in the most sensitive and empathic manner.

In response we have created innovative new resource materials (see picture) to help advice staff to positively engage with clients who are interested in stopping smoking. Our packs are designed to get noticed and encourage clients themselves to ask about what they are, so that the advisors can use these materials to inform and support clients interested in saving money by stopping smoking.

Each pack contains leaflets setting out the money that can be saved by stopping smoking and providing ten tips on the free advice and support available to help individuals quit their way.

The packs should be of use to anyone working in a setting that provides money advice, even if just part of a wider package of support - this could be a money advice service, a food bank, a student welfare office, a Citizens Advice Bureau, a credit union, local authority One Stop Shop or any community based organisation such as a Carers Centre providing financial advice as part of the holistic service that they provide to individuals.

Our project using this pack to help money advice workers generate conversations about smoking has found the approach well received, and concluded that it could help generate significant savings for people under financial pressure.

For further information download the summary report or read the full report and to order a pack to help raise the issue with your clients, request associated A3 posters to display or to order more of the leaflet inserts, contact enquiries@ashscotland.org.uk.