'Few take up smoking without knowing the risks'

Published on Saturday 20 December 2008 10:11

ANOTHER stunning government policy success. Nearly three years after the ban on smoking in public places and an extensive programme of health education, more teenagers than ever in Scotland are becoming addicted to cigarettes.

The numbers of young people between the ages of 16 and 24 who smoke have returned to levels last seen ten years ago and have risen by almost eight per cent in the last four years. One third of young Scots now smoke.

As part of its new health bill due to be published next year the SNP has outlined its strategy to tackle this reversal. The main thrust of its plans is to remove cigarettes from public display in shops. But while the legislation is no doubt well-intentioned it is open to question whether this will have any effect on the supply.

Toughening up on the supply of alcohol to under-18s has done nothing to deter children half that age getting their hands on booze Nor have decades of anti-drug legislation done anything to stem the flow of narcotics to a growing army of addicts.

The attitude of youngsters themselves as to why so many start smoking is revealing. Predictably, some say they started because it was perceived as grown-up or cool, while others cite peer pressure for taking up the habit. But who could have foreseen that some who say they welcome the ban also say that smoking outside gives them a chance to network with other teenage smokers in public.

The smoking ban was hailed as the greatest advance in public health by the last Holyrood administration. That may well prove to be true in the long term for the thousands who were previously forced to inhale other peoples' smoke. But for the growing number determined to puff it's a different story.

But now that the dangers of second-hand smoke have largely been eliminated in public places the only real reason for trying to stop people smoking is to reduce the cost to the NHS of treating smoking-related diseases.

While the dangers associated with smoking may have been hidden from previous generations, few people take up smoking nowadays without knowing the potential consequences. Slogans like "smoking kills" and "smokers die young" are emblazoned on every packet. If that doesn't deter people then hiding them under the counter won't either.

And as long as they don't harm anyone else in the process, if people are determined to kill themselves then that's their lookout.