Scottish Politicians Need To Act Now To Protect Children From The Allure Of Smoking, Say Doctors

Main Category: Smoking / Quit Smoking
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 07 Jul 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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Scotland's doctors have called on MSPs to exert pressure on their Westminster counterparts to take a stand against smoking imagery in the media.

The call comes as the BMA published "Forever cool" a new report1 which sets out recommendations for a range of tough measures aimed at reducing young people's exposure to positive images of smoking.

The proposals include calling on film censors to take pro-smoking content into account when classifying films and introducing laws so that all films and TV programmes which portray positive images of smoking are preceded by an anti-smoking advert.

In the report, the BMA challenges the UK Governments to demonstrate their commitment to protecting children's health by introducing policies that will help reduce smoking prevalence with the aim of making the UK tobacco-free by 2035.

The BMA report shows that despite some of the most restrictive tobacco legislation in the world, young people in the UK are still exposed to creative marketing strategies such as elaborate point-of-sale displays, attractive pack designs and evocative brand imagery. There is also very little regulation of the internet which is commonly used by young people.

Dr Peter Terry, Chairman of BMA Scotland said: "There is no doubt that the introduction of smoke free public places has made a positive difference to health in Scotland, however, put simply, it is not enough.

"Clever marketing ploys and easy access to tobacco continue to lure young people to smoke. By tackling the positive images of tobacco, we can make Scotland's unhealthy relationship with tobacco a thing of the past. This BMA report mirrors many of the recommendations in the Scottish Government's recently published action plan to make Scotland's future smoke free. Tackling display, licensing and plain packaging are just some of the areas that doctors and Scottish politicians agree will make a difference to Scotland's dependence on tobacco. However, the only way to turn this into reality is for our MSPs to convince politicians at Westminster to take action."

BMA Head of Science and Ethics, Dr Vivienne Nathanson, said: "During the last decade we have seen a number of encouraging developments in tobacco regulation that include the introduction of smokefree legislation throughout the UK. However, the long-term trends for people quitting have slowed down in recent years so it is essential that further action is taken to promote a tobacco-free lifestyle that deglamourises smoking.

"Young people are surrounded by positive images of tobacco - from smoking by parents and peers, to celebrities and role models they see in the media. They are also exposed to robust tobacco industry marketing - all this serves to reinforce the habit as being 'forever cool'."

Most smokers start before the age of 18 and virtually all do so by the time they are 25 years old - this makes young people a key target group for the tobacco industry, says the report. 'Forever Cool' goes on to conclude that young people are greatly influenced by their sense of what is normal and attractive, especially the images they see in films and magazines, and on the internet. The fact that over a fifth of the population still smoke and others continue to take up the habit only serves to normalise it and encourage the onset of smoking.

Key recommendations from the report include2:

The UK Governments should reduce tobacco marketing opportunities by:

- compelling outlets selling tobacco to get a license to do so
- prohibiting the display of tobacco products at the point-of-sale
- ending the sale of tobacco from vending machines
- introducing plain packaging on cigarette packets with only the brand name and health warnings
- setting minimum price levels for tobacco products.

The UK Governments should implement educational programmes aimed at informing those involved in the production of entertainment media of the potential damage done by the depiction of smoking.

- The British Board of Film Classification should take pro-smoking content into consideration for the classifications of films, videos and digital material in the UK. This should consider whether the depiction of smoking is condoned, encouraged or glamorised in the absence of editorial justification.

- All films and television programmes which portray positive images of smoking should be preceded by an anti-smoking advertisement.

- The UK Governments should implement a sustained population-wide communications programme promoting anti-smoking messages and imagery.

- The UK Governments should develop a tobacco control strategy with the aim of making the UK tobacco-free by 2035.

1 The full title is: 'Forever cool: the influence of smoking on young people' - click here to access the full report.

2 A full list of recommendations can be found on page 33 of the report

British Medical Association