Support addiction

THE introduction of the smoking ban in Scotland in 2006 has been truly transformative.

It had been opposed by many at the time but now it is hard to imagine how awful it was before the ban.

Smoke-filled pubs and clothes reeking of tobacco are a thing of the past – and rightly so.

But the success of the ban in health terms has, like so many other reforms of Scottish devolution, been mainly to the benefit of the better-off in society.

The projections show the richest fifth of the population could achieve the smoke-free target by 2034 but that the poorest fifth will not even have crossed the 10 per cent mark by 2050.

Like so many other targets, this one is going to be missed.

That means there has to be a concerted effort to give addiction support to those who find giving up smoking the hardest thing to do.

LUNG cancer patient Donald Milne should have had every incentive to stop smoking but when the disease was discovered for a second time, he took the habit up again.

Donald, 59, from Cumbernauld, has three sons aged seven, four and one but, try as he might, the 20-a-day dad could not stop permanently.

It was only after receiving support from the Quit Your Way smoking cessation service at the Beatson West Of Scotland Cancer Centre in Glasgow that the former offshore worker was able to stop 13 weeks ago.

Donald, above, said: “I think the support’s been tremendous. My advisor has been fantastic. She never gave up on me. She’s been so encouraging.”