Meeting of the Parliament 01 December 2015
Since becoming an MSP, I have taken a keen interest in reducing the harm that smoking causes. In July 2001, I proposed a regulation of smoking bill, with the strong support of Dr Richard Simpson, Bill Aitken and Robert Brown. Subsequently, after 2003, the proposal was taken forward by Stewart Maxwell and, eventually, the Scottish Executive, which ultimately led to the smoking ban being implemented in 2006.
For many years, I have been a deputy convener of the cross-party group in the Scottish Parliament on tobacco and health, which is led energetically and enthusiastically by Willie Rennie and which aims to tackle the harm caused by tobacco use in Scotland, because it is an issue that has not gone away. We heard from the convener of the Health and Sport Committee how many people still become ill and die because of tobacco use.
Behaviours and attitudes in relation to tobacco and smoking have varied wildly over the years. Earlier today, I watched a programme on the BBC iPlayer entitled “Timeshift: the Smoking Years”, which charted the history of tobacco use in the UK and explained the initial hostility to tobacco through to its widespread use and mass consumerism, class status, addiction, medical concerns and modern public smoking bans. It is clear that despite the long history of, and our familiarity with, the smoker, our attitudes to tobacco and smoking continue to evolve, along with our understanding of the drug, how it is marketed and its health and economic effects.
Despite overwhelming evidence that smoking directly causes heart disease, cancers and a host of other life-threatening illnesses, smoking remains the biggest cause of preventable death in Scotland. We know that only young people taking up smoking allows the tobacco companies to continue to be able to market it, as older users either pass away or give up the habit.
I am pleased to say that, because of the smoking ban and other measures, the number of adults who identify as smokers continues to fall in Scotland and has dropped from 28 per cent of the population a decade ago to 22 per cent last year. That is heartening, and I understand that many smokers smoke less than they did before, which is undoubtedly because there are more restrictions on the places where they can smoke. That represents solid progress towards the ambition of the Scottish Government—and, I believe, everyone in the chamber—of establishing Scotland as a smoke-free nation by 2034. As Jenny Marra said, we hope that, under that ambitious target, less than 5 per cent of the population will smoke.
As we are aware, when Government intervention closes down certain avenues or restricts how tobacco products are sold and marketed, the ever-innovative tobacco industry reacts in creative ways to protect its margins. Tobacco companies are still pushing wholesale and unadulterated marketing in developing countries. They claim that they are interested only in getting people to switch brands rather than in encouraging younger people to smoke, but anyone who looks at what is happening overseas can see that that is fundamentally dishonest.
When advertising displays were banned, companies massively increased the variety of cigarettes that they sold, so that their brands took up entire shelves behind kiosks. When smoking in public was banned, some companies even tried to relaunch snuff as a product to be enjoyed socially. They were somewhat unsuccessful in their attempts, but my wife, who is an MP, tells me that snuff is still free to members of the House of Commons—I see that the minister is smiling, as her son is also a member of the Westminster Parliament.
In recent years, we have witnessed an increase in the use of nicotine vapour products, as many smokers understandably wish to switch to a potentially less harmful method of receiving the nicotine that they crave. Although I consider that NVPs cannot be worse than a cigarette that is packed with thousands of harmful chemicals, the science to ascertain how safe they are remains sketchy and incomplete. For that reason, it is incredibly important that we proceed cautiously, to ensure that a new generation of “smokers” is not created who assume that their new pursuit is completely benign. On that, I agree entirely with my colleague Stewart Maxwell.
Given that a majority of high school children have been exposed to NVP marketing, it is clear that we must protect them. For that reason, I am pleased that, following a public consultation, the Scottish Government has taken action to restrict the sale and advertising of such products. Prohibiting the sale of NVPs to anyone who is under the age of 18 and making it an offence to purchase NVPs on behalf of someone who is under 18 will help to limit the supply of such products to young children. That will lay down an important marker that such products might not be safe and that, for the time being, their sale must be considered alongside the sale of alcohol and tobacco.
As with cigarettes, I am glad that the Government has included measures to prevent the sale of NVPs from vending machines, which introduces another hurdle for people who seek to purchase NVPs when under the legal age. Further to that, those who wish to sell NVPs will have to register on the tobacco retailer register, as they would have to do to sell cigarettes. That will introduce accountability for shopkeepers and will help to weed out the less scrupulous who would happily sell to under-age customers.
As I mentioned, NVPs might be relatively safe, and they could prove to be useful tools in helping people to stop smoking completely, as I am sure colleagues would agree. However, until that can be proven conclusively, the Scottish Government is right to take an evidence-based and precautionary approach to the marketing of such products, which can ultimately lead to addiction.
As we heard from Malcolm Chisholm, Marie Curie, Unison, Action against Medical Accidents, Citizens Advice Scotland and others support legislation on the duty of candour to drive culture change and help to ensure that organisations shift towards learning, improvement and disclosure of harm. I echo what Stewart Maxwell said. I, too, have had such an experience. My son died as a direct result of medical neglect, and when one pursued an apology and measures to ensure that the same thing would not happen to anyone else, I am afraid that—appallingly—that was not forthcoming. I hope that the duty of candour will change the way in which health boards and others deal with such matters.
Along with the measures that are outlined in the tobacco control strategy, I believe that the bill will help to further reduce the number of smokers in Scotland and protect the health of our citizens, and that it will ultimately lead Scotland towards smoke-free status in the years ahead.
I very much look forward to Jackson Carlaw’s closing speech for the Conservatives, because I received a ballot paper for the Conservative ranking for the West Scotland regional list just a few short days ago, and a very good speech from him could possibly influence my vote.