SCOTTISH HEALTHCARE
Scotland - the health of the nation
National Health Executive spoke to deputy first minister & cabinet secretary for health & wellbeing, Nicola Sturgeon MSP
W
hat do you see as the major threats to public health
in Scotland and how does the Scottish Government plan to deal with them?
The health risks associated with smoking are both enormous and well documented. Each year smoking kills around 13,500 Scots (one in five of all deaths), is responsible for around 33,500 hospital admissions, and costs the NHS in Scotland around £400 million to treat smoking- related illness.
Too many people have already watched loved ones suffer and die as a result of smoking-related illnesses. I’m determined that we must do all we can to protect future generations.
These measures include banning smoking in public places and raising the minimum age for buying cigarettes to 18. The public health benefits from these measures are many, including improving air quality in public places, resulting in a dramatic reduction in hospital admissions for acute coronary syndrome.
Too many Scots
are drinking too much, putting the health and well-being of themselves and their families at risk
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While the decline in the population smoking in recent years is welcome, we need to continue firm action to reduce prevalence even further. We have already committed to continued investment in smoking cessation services, but also want to see a particular focus on preventing smoking uptake by children and young people.
The focus on children and young people is vital. The statistics speak for themselves. 80 per cent of smokers start in their teens.
The younger people start, the more likely they are to smoke for longer and to die early as a result. And, worst of all, someone who starts smoking at 15 is 3 times more likely to die of cancer than someone who starts in their mid-twenties.
As part of this effort a number of measures will be phased in between now and 2013 including: banning cigarette vending machines, banning tobacco displays in shops, introducing a registration scheme for retailers, giving trading standards officers powers to issue fixed penalty notices for retailers who sell cigarettes to under 18s, and preventing retailers from selling cigarettes if they continually break the law.
We’re continuing to do all we can to reduce smoking prevalence in Scotland including helping record number of smokers to quit through the national network of NHS stop smoking services which exists across Scotland.
Too many Scots are drinking too much, putting the health and well-being of themselves and their families at risk.
The impact of this excessive consumption is estimated to cost Scots £3.56 billion each year. That’s £900 for every adult in Scotland. Not only does alcohol misuse burden our health service and police – it also has a terrifying knock-on effect on our economic potential and on the families devastated by death and illness caused by alcohol.
Alcohol related death rates in Scotland have doubled in the last fifteen years and recent research suggests 1 in 20 (2,882) deaths in Scotland in 2003 were attributable to alcohol, twice as many as previously reported.
There is clear evidencee that alcohol use increases the risk of a range of physical harms and that the risk rises with the volume of drinking. While short term misuse can lead to often transient consequences such as injury, intoxification or poisoning, over the longer term excessive consumption can lead to chronic and lasting physical and mental health harms.
Alcohol misuse has been shown to damage the brain and nervous system, affect the immune system, harm bones, skin and muscles, cause fertility problems and impair fetal development. In addition, Scotland has one
Jul/Aug 10
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