NHS Tayside is to pilot a new peer-led smoking prevention scheme across the region’s secondary schools, as part of a bid to make Scotland smoke-free by 2034.
For the first time smoking has been identified as a child protection issue, according to the new Scottish policy on tobacco, Creating a Tobacco-Free Generation.
The local health board has successfully bid to become one of the Government’s pilot sites for the new ASSIST peer-led intervention.
Andrew Radley, consultant in public health, said: “We’ve got funding for the three local authorities. The best evidence we have for smoking prevention is for a programme called ASSIST, where the cool kids in school lead. We want nine doses throughout their school careers of peer-led interventions.”
Mr Radley was speaking at a meeting of the Dundee Community Health Partnership. He said of the effort to see Scotland smoke-free by 2034: “It’s a huge challenge. In terms of smoking in public places, Scotland started well ahead. However, we have come off the pace a bit. We heard the announcement last week that England is going to ban smoking in cars with children.”
His report added: “Tobacco smoking remains a significant cause of ill health, disability and early death in Scotland. Smoking is strongly linked to health inequalities, with prevalence higher in areas of deprivation and with vulnerable groups.”
He said to meet the Government’s targets, the health boards need to reduce the numbers of people taking up smoking, so they will have to divert some resources away from smoking cessation to early interventions like ASSIST.
“There’s been a focus on smoking cessation,” he said. “That’s a very inefficient way to spend your money. The better way is stopping children taking up smoking. One in two smokers dies of their tobacco intake. Smokers expect 14 years of ill health.”
The strategy also requires that NHS and local authority premises and grounds are smoke free by 2015.