Taken from a Scottish Government campaign poster, the image features a young person with blonde hair. They are wearing a generic school uniform and a hand, make of vape smoke, is touching their shoulder

Scottish Government launches Take Hold campaign to raise awareness of vaping harms

Posted 24.11.23 by Alice Hinds

The Scottish Government has launched a new marketing campaign to inform parents, carers and school pupils about the dangers of vaping and e-cigarettes.

As well as making use of radio and outdoor advertising, the Take Hold marketing campaign will see schools around Scotland provided with digital guidance packs and resources for posters, reinforcing the key message that vapes may quickly become harmfully addictive for children and young people, affecting everything from concentration and mental health to overall mood.

The information campaign comes as a new Tobacco and Vaping Framework is published, setting out key actions to create a tobacco-free generation by 2034, including raising the age limit for sales of cigarettes, and improving services to help people quit.

In addition, the Scottish Government will continue to review what further action is needed to limit the appeal of vapes to children, young people and non-smokers during the first phase of the framework, which will run until November 2025.

Public Health Minister Jenni Minto said: “Smoking damages lives for people across Scotland, and is responsible for one in five deaths – more than 8,000 lives a year. It causes preventable ill health and loss of life of loved ones, is a significant burden on our NHS and social care services, and is the leading preventable cause of health inequalities and costs the economy millions each year in lost productivity.

“Although we have seen smoking rates decline, and Scotland has already introduced a range of world-leading tobacco control measures, we want to do more to help us achieve our goal of being tobacco-free by 2034. This framework will provide direction for a decade and allow us to be more responsive in dealing with a variety of nicotine and tobacco products.

“E-cigarettes are one of a range of tools for adult smokers to quit smoking, but should never be used by young people or adult non-smokers. We must take action to prevent young people using vapes and becoming addicted which will damage their health, and that’s why we’re launching a marketing campaign. It is much easier to never start than it is to give up.”

Changing our World (click here for more), Children in Scotland’s young people’s advisory group, recently produced an evidence paper sharing views on vaping, exploring topics such as the impact of vaping on health and wellbeing, and how the names, packaging and flavours of many vapes are attractive to children and young people. It will be published in November 2023.

Support for Minimum Income Guarantee but warning not to overlook help for families

16 September 2021

Children in Scotland has responded to the Scottish Government’s consultation on the introduction of a Minimum Income Guarantee with cautious support whilst warning it must not overshadow work to support families now.

Our view is that ensuring children, young people and families have the financial resources to survive must be the priority for a Minimum Income Guarantee, but work to progress it must not come at the expense of supporting families in the immediate term.

Broadly supportive of the aims, we recognise the Minimum Income Guarantee could provide a baseline for basic living costs and an income which covers these.

We also acknowledge the importance of a stable income in addressing food insecurity and supporting mental health.

However, we have warned the Minimum Income Guarantee must not adopt the same five-week waiting period as Universal Credit and must be set up in a way to respond to flexible and fluctuating work patterns.

We have urged the Scottish Government to take forward a series of calls made as part of both the Children in Scotland and End Child Poverty coalition’s manifestos, which we believe should be considered as elements of the Minimum Income Guarantee. This includes:

Doubling the Scottish Child Payment as quickly as possible
Ensuring every worker is paid a real living wage by the end of the next parliament, and
Applying a rights-based approach to anti-poverty policies, reflecting lived experiences of those living in poverty.

Amy Woodhouse, Head of Policy, Projects and Participation, said:

“We are broadly supportive of the Minimum Income Guarantee but work cannot come at the expense of immediate and urgent action required to ensure children, young people and families have the basic income they need.

“As a member of the End Child Poverty coalition, we have been calling for the Scottish Government to commit to doubling the Scottish Child Payment – a call which has not yet been taken forward.

“We urge the Scottish Government to prioritise calls from both the Children in Scotland and End Child Poverty coalition manifesto’s. Addressing these priorities would not only help families now, but would lay the groundwork for realising the success of a Minimum Income Guarantee."

In the consultation, Children in Scotland suggest the next steps for the the Scottish Government should be to proactively engage with the children’s sector, as well as directly with children, young people and families, to inform development.

Click here to read the consultation response in full