How smoking ban showed Scotland is capable of transforming big ideas into bold laws

The impact on lives has been significant, as Ash Scotland points out. Since 2006, smoking rates have nearly halved, with a half a million fewer Scots lighting up. There are fewer strokes and serious asthma attacks, and the smoking ban is directly linked to a 17 per cent reduction in hospital admissions for heart attacks. A study by the HERU (Health Economics Research Unit) estimated that over a 30-year period, the ban will avert 4,490 deaths from reduced second-hand smoke exposure and an additional 5,330 deaths due to reduced active smoking. More than ten thousand Scots living longer, healthier lives as a direct impact of MSPs’ determination to do the right thing.

The smoking ban has often been described as the number one public health achievement of the first 20 years of the 21st century. But, our decision also kickstarted a revolution in the hospitality industry as a new generation of Scots and their families enjoyed a smoke-free atmosphere in public places, from pubs and restaurants to workplaces and shops. And a good few romances were kicked off among those standing outside for a smoke!

The journey to March 2006 serves as an excellent example of how government, working across party lines and with everyone who has a stake in a big policy change, can make a lasting difference. Prior to 1999, the evidence from clinicians, charities and academia was clear. Over successive generations, smoking had contributed to Scotland’s poor public health record. One of the main reasons we were known as the ‘sick man of Europe’ was because of our national addiction to nicotine. And second-hand smoking killed people. It damaged the health of those who were subjected to it at work and in their leisure time.

It took just seven years, from Ash Scotland’s policy paper in March 1999 that called for the incoming Scottish Parliament to restrict smoking in public places to the law coming into effect. Scottish Labour’s Hugh Henry was the first member of the new parliament to call for legislation in August 1999, followed a few months later by the launch of the campaign group Scotland CAN! (Cleaner Air Now).

The pace picked up in May 2003, when Labour’s Partnership Agreement with the Liberal Democrats included a commitment to consult on the best way to achieve smoke free public places. And, in February 2004, SNP MSP Stewart Maxwell introduced a member’s bill which proposed a ban on smoking in premises where food was supplied and consumed. Meanwhile, the public consultation led by my late colleague Tom McCabe MSP had attracted over 53,000 responses, largely supportive of action. By the time I announced our Scottish government’s intention to introduce legislation in September, public attitudes had shifted in favour of a comprehensive ban.

But, despite the indisputable evidence, it was clear that far-reaching behavioural change would not happen by government diktat alone. The biggest challenge was to convince a sceptical public that a comprehensive smoking ban in all enclosed spaces was not a political gimmick, but a serious-minded attempt to create a healthier society. This was made even more difficult by a professionally organised and vicious opposition, very well-funded by the tobacco industry who were determined to protect the status quo.

Without public consent even the most carefully crafted law would fail. So we kept a big tent: professionals, campaign groups, politicians across the divides. Outstanding ministerial leadership from Malcolm Chisholm and Andy Kerr was coupled with the very best of the civil service. On my birthday, June 30, 2005, the Scottish Parliament voted 97-17 in favour of the Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Bill. And when the law came into effect nine months later, the overwhelming majority of Scots embraced their new smoke-free public environment with enthusiasm.

The passage and smooth implementation of the smoking ban legislation was a sign that Scottish Parliament had come of age. A Westminster government using Scotland as a guinea pig would have met hostility, and not just from the public. But the ban was welcomed because the arguments had been played out in Scotland, and the decision was made in Scotland, in our national interest. The consultation, legislation and implementation were thorough and robust. Against expectations, we had done it.

In recent years, the quality of debate, legislation and scrutiny in the Scottish Government and Parliament have too often disappointed. But the introduction of the smoking ban showed that Scotland is more than capable of transforming big ideas into bold laws, and leaders should enter the coming election with that as their aim. We need to reverse the decline in standards in our schools, raise the performance of our health service, deal with the threats posed by vapes and online addictions, reform our system of local councils and ignite the spark of enterprise in our sluggish economy. Let’s raise our game again. It’s time for our Scottish Parliament to rediscover its original sense of purpose – to be ambitious and do its best by the people of Scotland.