Quit cigs plea over poverty & mental health
UP TO half of people with mental health problems in Scotland’s poorest communities are smokers, a report has shown.
Health charity Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) Scotland demanded the Scottish Government do more to address health inequalities impacting vulnerable people.
It wants more specialist support to help the estimated 230,000 Scots with mental health issues to quit smoking.
The charity’s Closing the Inequality Gap: Smoking and Mental Health report said only four per cent of those in the most affluent areas experiencing mental health issues were smokers.
Ash Scotland chief Sheila Duffy said: “It is vital that people in this group are supported.”