Poverty is the greatest blight facing Scotland today. Not only is it a tragic waste of human potential but it has a scarring effect for the children and adults affected.
A new report has found the failure to eradicate poverty is causing Scotland to lose out on up to £2.4billion a year. This is because public bodies are spending money tackling poverty instead of preventing it in the first place.
Health boards are directing funds in response to the impacts of poverty and schools also have to deal with the consequences. Experts believe a good approach would be to fund policies that prevent poverty at its roots.
This includes increasing the hours of free childcare in order to help parents work and boost their income. Full Universal Credit take-up would be another way to achieve the same end.
Sadly the UK Government’s approach to poverty is to penalise people who are struggling, rather than supporting them. Scrapping the £20-a-week rise in Universal Credit was one example of Tory heartlessness.
First Minister Humza Yousaf recently convened a summit with a view to slashing poverty rates. The summit was welcome but urgent action is required to improve the life chances of the vulnerable.
Targeting resources in a way that prevents poverty levels spiralling even further would be a good place to start.
No to all nicotine
Smoking is still a massive blight on Scotland’s health and, despite many campaigns, large numbers continue to puff themselves into early graves. Figures today show one person dies every 40 minutes because of tobacco-related illnesses and every six minutes a smoker is admitted to hospital.
These are shocking statistics and highlight why more must be done to encourage Scots to stub out the ciggies. There are calls for tobacco firms to be held financially accountable for the damage they do and the Scottish Government must get behind this.
But they also need to do more to encourage Scots smokers to quit. Aims of a “smokefree” country by 2034 are lagging and it now looks unlikely the target will be met before 2050.
That means a further 16 years drain on our NHS which is why we need to drive home the message more forcefully so we can confine the filthy habit to the bin, where it belongs. But we must not allow vapes to become the new way to consume nicotine.
The Scottish Government’s upcoming tobacco control action plan is a time for bold measures to end all types of nicotine inhalation.
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