Demanding the best for children in our care Reply

Children in Scotland who are “looked after”* are those for whom the local authority has a formal responsibility for their wellbeing. By any reasonable assessment it is clear that wider society has a moral responsibility too.

5 Reasons to Celebrate No Smoking Day Reply

No Smoking Day is just around the corner on Tuesday 8 March. But why should your organisation take up the baton to promote it? ASH Scotland Chief Executive, Sheila Duffy, tells us more:

Protecting our children from harm while they play Reply

Tottering round in mum’s far too big heels, sneaking into the make-up drawer to paint your face, rummaging around in the tool box to play ‘fix it’, chattering into any inanimate object to take that important ‘call’,  pestering to ‘drive’ the car and wanting to ‘help’ with the dishes. Children copy the behaviour of those around to them, mostly harmless and part of their natural development, but there are some adult behaviours which we shouldn’t expose our children to and don’t want them mimicking.

People STILL buy tobacco for kids! Let’s tackle this problem. Reply

The younger you start smoking the harder it is to give up in later life. That’s why it is so important to keep tobacco out of the hands of young people. Tobacco control measures and education has shifted the average age for starting smoking upwards and reduced teen smoking steadily, but 16 and 17 year olds especially, are still sliding into the clutches of Big Tobacco.

Positive thinking about young people’s mental health Reply

Eight colleges and 11 universities from across Scotland are participating in the Think Positive and Scottish Student Sport Healthy Body Healthy Mind Award 2016/17. ASH Scotland Policy and Research Officer, Mike Andrews, blogs about the award, and the work that ASH Scotland is doing around it.

Tobacco is a child protection issue Reply

Starting smoking is something that is mostly done by children. Two thirds of smokers started before they were 18. Almost nobody starts to smoke after the age of 25.

Advice for youth organisations on how to respond to electronic cigarettes 2

While media debates on vaping and electronic cigarettes continue to produce more heat than light, ASH Scotland is working with leading youth organisations (Youthlink, Youth Scotland, Young Scot and Fast Forward) and with WLDAS to circulate some simple, practical guidance

Protecting children – keeping the air, and the message, clear Reply

ASH Scotland Development Lead for Children & Young People, Joanne Buchan, blogs for us about third-hand smoke and smoke-free homes.

Scotland’s pre-schoolers to celebrate their 21st birthdays free from tobacco Reply

ASH Scotland Development Officer Connie Bennett blogs about strategies for making Scotland tobacco-free for the next generation.

Scotland’s nursery schools and early years establishments will be well versed in the principles of GIRFEC, helping to keep children safe, healthy, respected and nurtured. They might be less well acquainted with Creating a Tobacco-free Generation – the Scottish Government’s Tobacco Control Strategy.

Youth work works: contributing to a tobacco-free generation by 2034 Reply

Much of the story of young people and tobacco is well known.

We are all too aware that the younger a person starts to smoke, the more likely they are to continue smoking into adulthood, the more heavily they are likely to smoke as an adult and the more likely they are to fall ill and die early as a result of smoking.