Meeting of the Parliament 18 January 2017
The challenges that the motion points to are familiar to us all. We have an ageing population, our country is one in which people continue to have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol, it is now more common to be overweight than not, and the population needs to increase its activity levels. As I said to the Faculty of Public Health in October, all of that is exacerbated and magnified by deep, unfair and persistent inequalities that are driven in part by the harsh consequences of austerity and welfare reforms, no matter how much Brian Whittle wants to ignore his party’s culpability in that regard.
It is well known that Scotland has particular and long-standing challenges in its relationship with obesity and with alcohol, tobacco and other substances, but where there is challenge, we must seek opportunity. We have the opportunity to positively transform Scotland’s public health and wellbeing.
We have some cause for optimism. October’s “Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS)—National Overview (2015)” showed that smoking, drinking alcohol and drug use among young people are now among the lowest levels recorded by the survey.