You might think that smoking is a done issue, but it is still the most important cause of preventable death and health inequalities in Scotland.
We have had great success in reducing smoking in young people over the last few years, but it is still taken up, and particularly by disadvantaged young people.
There is not much evidence that we have really managed to reduce inequalities in smoking so if you look at those taking it up it tends to be those from more disadvantaged backgrounds whose parents are also more likely to smoke so they are growing up in a world where smoking is more common.
Some young people still think smoking is something they want to try and continue to do and a lot of it is around smoking with peers so it is something that pupils at break times and after school will do together in groups.
For some young people smoking still has that cool rebellious image, but also it is about something they do to fit in with other young people who they want to hang out with or who they aspire to.
It soon becomes something that moves on from that more social aspect as the nicotine addiction starts to kick in even after just one or two cigarettes a day.
They then start to use smoking to deal with feelings when they are down or bored or stressed or angry so it still has that functional value when they are on your own or with their mates.
The young people most likely to smoke are also more likely to drink alcohol or smoking cannabis.
If pupils are smoking because they see it as rebellious then they are unlikely to respond to punishment. They need support.
Amanda Amos is Professor of Health Promotion at Edinburgh University
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel