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Would £150 encourage you to give up smoking for good? NHS Tayside hopes so.
They have just launched a pilot scheme in Dundee, which gives participants from disadvantaged areas £12.50 a week if they manage to stay off cigarettes. The money is credited onto an electronic card and can be spent at Asda on fresh fruit and vegetables only – not cigarettes or alcohol. Participants can stay on the scheme for up to 12 weeks, earning them a total of £150.
Public Health Minister Shona Robison, launched the Quit4u scheme. She said “The most important thing anyone can do to improve their health is to quit smoking – it’s the biggest preventable cause of ill health and premature death in Scotland. This is an innovative project and I’ll be following the results with interest to see if lessons can be learned.”
Life expectancy in Dundee is among the lowest in Britain, according to Scottish Government figures. There are thought to be around 36,000 smokers in Dundee, around half of whom live in poverty. Paul Ballard, NHS Tayside’s Deputy Director of Public Health, says deprived areas are often the worst affected.
“We know that the highest smoking rates are still in our poorest and most deprived communities. This is simply because, on a day to day basis, for them quitting smoking is not the most important thing – the most important thing is actually putting food on the table. What Quit4u does is helps and supports them to put food on the table, so they can make quitting smoking a top priority.”
But will £12.50 a week really be enough to persuade smokers to give up? Granted the first 12 weeks of the scheme are an attractive proposition – they will receive the weekly ‘reward’ money, as well as the extra cash they have saved by no longer buying cigarettes. But concerns have been expressed about the long term success of the project.
Health spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, Ross Finnie, said “We welcome any initiative that helps people kick the habit. We do, however, have concerns over the exit strategy. Support must continue over the three months to ensure smokers who use the financial contribution as an incentive to quit do not light up when the money has dried up.”
NHS Tayside hopes up to 50% of smokers who join the scheme will be successful in their attempt to quit. At the end of the two year trial they will discover if that offer of £150 was as much of a lure as they had hoped.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) has been translated into Scots to mark the 60th anniversary of its signing.
Poster for the UDHR 60th anniversary
Amnesty International today presented the First Minister with a framed copy of what he called ‘one of the most important documents of the 20th century.’
In his official statement after receiving the translation Alex Salmond said he was ‘delighted’.
‘The Scottish Government is wholly committed to promoting and protecting the values enshrined in the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights – fairness, human dignity and equality.’
‘It is especially appropriate that this copy of the Declaration is in Scots, a language which is as key to Scotland’s cultural identity as human rights are to our social and political identity.’
Reminder
Signed on 10 December 1948, the UDHR set out for the first time in a single document the fundamental rights to which everyone, everywhere is entitled – including the right to life, liberty, freedom of opinion, security, and the right not to be subjected to torture or inhumane treatment.
John Watson, Amnesty International’s Scottish Programme Director, presented Mr Salmond with the document. He told Napier News that the politician’s office is the perfect place for the Declaration to hang.
‘Hopefully seeing this every day will remind them of their responsibility to promote human rights around the world.’
First Minister receiving the framed translation from John Watson
When asked why having the UDHR translated into Scots is so important John said,
‘Sometimes people living in Scotland think of human rights as a distant concern. We hope hearing the Declaration in our familiar language will really bring home the message to our people.
‘Scots is such as passionate and inspirational language, and the humanitarian principles of the document really shine through in the language of Burns. The sentiments in this visionary text – such as the opening ‘Aw sowels is born free and equal’ – apply to us all.’
The UDHR was translated into Scots by Colin Donati, of the Scots Language Society. He said ‘it’s great to see Scots taking its place among the other languages of the world on the United Nations website.’
To listen to an excerpt from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Scots click here.
Tackling forced marriage is the focus of a new consultation published by the Scottish Government.
During a debate at Parliament, Communities and Sport Minister, Stewart Maxwell, described forced marriage as “an abhorrent practice which has no place in Scotland.”
The Government will consult on whether current legislation is enough to prevent it, or if new laws are needed to give those affected by forced marriage even greater protection.
The minister was sure to distinguish between forced marriage and arranged marriage, which is a “successful practice” in many communities.
Forced Marriage Unit campaign poster
Lack of information
A Foreign Office spokesperson said awareness of forced marriage in the United Kingdom is growing. From January to September 2008 the UK-wide Forced Marriage Unit handled 1308 cases - a 79% increase on the figures from 2007. But despite this huge surge in numbers, many cases continue to go unreported.
It is because of this information deficit that the Government is conducting an anonymous freephone and Internet survey, which has been set up to determine the extent of forced marriage across Scotland. It is hoped that the survey will be a medium through which they can hear the voices of those affected, and those who understand the issues involved.
Hard to get help
Mridul Wadhwa is an Information and Education Officer at Shakti, a women’s aid centre in Edinburgh for women of black, Asian, or other minority backgrounds. She said that many victims of forced marriages find it difficult to come forward.
“Often they are very young, and they have no way of coming forward.” Mridul Wadhwa, Shakti
The Government hope that the anonymous nature of the survey will encourage all people affected by forced marriage to complete it, so they can get a comprehensive picture of exactly how many people in Scotland need help.
More funding needed
Mridul also said “the government need to dedicate more funding to the problem, especially to help young people rebuild their lives. The survey is a good start but it’s not enough.”
The survey will be open from December 5, 2008 until March 5, 2009.
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