Today we’re launching our hot-off-the-press infographic about Smoking and Health in Scotland. In collaboration with Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) Scotland we’ve created this summary of some of the key statistics on smoking and health in Scotland, featuring some headline results from our own research. Please use and circulate widely! (more…)
Tag: Scotland
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Smoking and Health in Scotland: key stats
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Alcohol outlet densities correlate with alcohol-related health outcomes in Scotland: but so what?
In our recently-published study into alcohol outlets and health in Scotland we found strong correlations between the two: neighbourhoods with higher availability of outlets had higher rates of alcohol-related deaths and hospitalisations. In fact, residents of neighbourhoods with the highest availability were more than twice as likely to die a drink-related death than those with the fewest outlets, all else* being equal (*deprivation and urban/rural status).
Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffcarson/8278481152/ under Creative Commons licence But what does this actually mean? (more…)
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Mapping life expectancy in Scottish Parliamentary Constituencies
By Helena Tunstall, Elizabeth Richardson & Jamie Pearce
New life expectancy at birth figures for 2011-2013 for Scottish Parliamentary Constituencies have just been released by National Records of Scotland (NRS). We’ve mapped and graphed these data to illustrate the latest geographical patterns of mortality in Scotland. (more…)
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‘An environment where young people choose not to smoke’ is not one where tobacco products are sold on every street corner
By Niamh Shortt
Teenagers are more likely to smoke if they live in areas with the highest number of tobacco retailers. Our paper led by Niamh Shortt, published today in Tobacco Control, examined the relationship between tobacco outlet density and smoking habits of 13 and 15 year olds in Scotland. (more…)
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Will the new point of sale legislation in Scotland influence young people’s knowledge and attitudes of tobacco products?
By Jamie Pearce & Catherine Tisch
Smoking remains one of the most significant public health challenges in Scotland and is implicated in one in every five Scottish deaths. Each year, around 15,000 young Scottish people start smoking and many go on to become regular smokers. Since the introduction of the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act in 2005, most forms of tobacco advertising and sponsorship in the UK have been banned. One of the few ways the tobacco industry can legitimately promote their products (often by elaborate and prominent means) is via point of sale (POS) tobacco displays. A recent systematic review showed that POS displays increased children’s susceptibility to smoking, experimentation and initiation into smoking. (more…)
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Tobacco and Alcohol Outlet Density and Adolescent Behaviours
- Image courtesy of mack2happy / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Tobacco and alcohol use pose significant global public health challenges and are major determinants of preventable morbidity and mortality. Preventing tobacco and alcohol misuse in adolescence before habits are formed is an important policy goal. Previous research into the relationship between tobacco outlet density and smoking prevalence has resulted in mixed findings. Whilst some have reported increased smoking prevalence with a higher density of retail outlets around the home and school others have reported no significant associations. For alcohol a positive association between drinking and alcohol outlet density has been reported around the home for adults, adolescents and around Universities for college students. Despite this there have been several calls for a policy response to address the tobacco retail environment, primarily by ‘restricting the number of retailers around child spaces’. We received seed funding from the Scottish Collaboration for Public Health Research and Policy (SCPHRP) to examine the density of tobacco and alcohol retail outlets in Scotland and their association with the prevalence of drinking and smoking behaviours in school aged children. (more…)
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