Scottish Government pays incentives to allow expectant mothers to shop at Asda

Free NRT thrown in, although it will probably be claimed that this is optional. The compulsory part is giving up smoking. Public health  minister Michael Matheson claims that this scheme has been 'a success' (a 50 per cent success rate at one month). Launched in Tayside, he now wants it rolled out across Scotland (the news article claims £50 a month is paid out, but other sources give £12.50 a week).

The Taxpayers Alliance's investigations showed over £60,000 had been spent with only a quarter of those attempting to quit succeeding even in the short term. There were allegations that some non-smoking families resented the financial help given to parents who succeeded in quitting under the scheme. According to the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, the long-term prospects for people quitting under this scheme are not necessarily good:

However, a search by the Cochrane Collaboration of all the available evidence looking at whether competitions and incentives help smokers to quit in the medium to long term showed that such incentives do not enhance long term smoking cessation rates, with early success tending to dissipate when the rewards are no longer offered.

Earlier this year a Tobacco Control Study was reported in several papers including the Scotsman showing that nicotine patches, even in conjunction with counselling, do not give quitters an advantage over people stopping without pharmaceutical support.

This has to be a pharmaceutical company's dream: patients getting a financial incentive to participate in a programme that gives them free medication.

It seems that no cost is too great where smoking cessation medications are concerned. Look at the delegate list for this year's UK National Smoking Cessation Conference. So far 261 people have registered for at least one day, at £250 (£375 for two days) with recommended accommodation at £99 per night. At a guess I would hazard that most of it is reclaimable on expenses, plus food. So the cost to the public purse so far (for 261 delegates) has run from anything between just over £62K (for one day with no accommodation), to nearly (£150K for two days with two nights' accommodation. Some people might even need three nights!) And they still have a few weeks to sign up more delegates.

All in a concerted campaign to dissuade people from using a legal product.

Further smoking-related fines at Ninewells as Tayside faces job cuts

'NHS Tayside is paying the council £20,000 to provide the service.' At a time when NHS Tayside must lay off personnel, it can afford £20,000 to pay for enforcement of the national law. It has managed to fine 5 staff members for standing in bus shelters smoking (including one featured two weeks ago because she was on call and was not allowed to leave the site), and six people including two staff for littering.

Of course NHS Tayside should have priorities other than bringing in enforcement officers to prosecute their own staff and public. But if staff cuts were not an issue, isn't there something sinister about a health board hiring law enforcers from the council? Law enforcement is not a health board remit. It's the council's job. Health board money shouldn't be paying for it.

Raigmore Hospital (Inverness) doesn't seem to be having much luck enforcing its policy either. Perhaps they'll hire some council enforcers as well.

£20,000 on enforcement officers v. threats to Fife and Tayside services

As already reported in recent posts, Tayside Health Board has brought in enforcement officers to police smoking on the grounds of Ninewells hospital. The project costs £20,000, and they have issued one littering fine so far, which means they have another 399 fines to issue before they break even. People might restrict their illicit smoking activities to the 152 hours per week when no officers are present ...

Meantime public health minister Nicola Sturgeon will be chairing the NHS Fife's annual review meeting in order to face the public over the issue of cuts in A&E services in the area.

The Courier has launched a Burning Issues campaign in order to draw attention to problems in the health service. It covers areas like Evidence of abuse at Perth Royal Infirmary, Superbugs link to cleaning cuts denied, Sick NHS workers cost £260,000 a week – but there is also evidence of a strong level of support from the public: Former patients full of praise for health service staff.

When a couple of smoking enforcement officers are added to this mix they must fade into obscurity. The money spent on these is small but everywhere you look there are more pressing problems. High levels of abuse directed at staff and high levels of sick pay are both significant problems: is policing smoking in the grounds of the hospital likely to help either situation? Isn't abuse of staff vastly more objectionable than smoking in a doorway out of the rain? Is a smoking ban designed to promote a spirit of mutual respect and dignity for everybody concerned

Last word to Planet Politics, in an excellent blog piece which points out that the hospital does not have an indoor smoking problem, and that 'zero tolerance' does not mean that enforcement is effective.

To contribute to Burning Issues on any aspect of NHS performance in Tayside call 01382 575291 or email courier@dcthomson.co.uk.