Witness Seminar marking 25 Years of Devolved Health Policy in Scotland : The introduction of smoke-free public places

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Smith, Katherine E. and Kelly, Iona and Garnham, Lisa, eds. (2024) Witness Seminar marking 25 Years of Devolved Health Policy in Scotland : The introduction of smoke-free public places. Centre for Health Policy, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. (https://doi.org/10.17868/strath.00091572)

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Abstract

It is now 25 years since significant policy powers were devolved to Scotland, 20 years since Scotland introduced the Smoking, Health & Social Care Bill, and 18 years since Scotland’s ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces came into effect. Scotland’s leadership in implementing smoke-free public places within the UK contributed to a sense that Scotland was emerging as a public health leader in the early post-devolution years1. Whether this reputation for public leadership will be maintained over the next two decades seems far from clear. We wanted to use this Witness Seminar to reflect back on how and why Scotland came to be the first UK nation to implement a ban on smoking in enclosed public places, and to consider what lessons we might take from this historic policy change. The key question driving this Witness Seminar was: what factors enabled Scotland to successfully develop, pass and implement the ban on smoking in enclosed public places within the Smoking, Health & Social Care Bill? We wanted to learn about the individuals, organisations, processes and events (in and beyond Scotland) that contributed to this policy achievement, to understand the barriers that were encountered (and overcome) along the way, and to consider what these experiences might tell us about future efforts to pursue public health improvements in Scotland. We also considered why progress in reducing tobacco consumption and exposure to second-hand smoke does not appear to have translated into similar successes in other areas of public health (such as tackling Scotland’s persistent health inequalities).

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