MAIN BODY - Option 1

Question 1

Suggestion?

Answer 1

My first suggestion for tackling the smoking crisis in Scotland is to increase the pricing of cigarettes.

Question 2

Increasing pricing and creating a minimum price for cigarettes sold in the UK would limit tobacco companies’ ability to fix prices and it would help to cut smoking rates. (Source 1)

Answer 2

It has been proven that an increase to the cost of cigarettes acts as a motivator to help people quit which causes a significant decrease to smoking. The reason for this is because it allows people to save money, with inflation around bills and shops and future health care costs, people who smoke around 10 a day will save up to around £1600 a year.

Question 3

(Source 2)

Answer 3

This shows that increasing the price would effectively reduce the smoking crisis as one major factor behind high smoking rates is poverty, those among low-income groups have higher smoking rates. However, with a price increase, it will mean that those who are more price vulnerable, especially young smokers as they will not be able to afford cigarettes due to the expense of the addiction.

Question 4

Furthermore, I used primary research to create a survey and anonymously asked people in my classes “Would you stop buying cigarettes if the prices went up from what they are now?” (Source 3)

Answer 4

This survey demonstrated that 72% of those who answered said they would stop buying cigarettes if the prices increased. This proves that young people would rather not spend a lot of money on addictions and instead keep their money. Young people are a usual target for many things, cigarette companies can’t physically target them as an audience as it’s illegal however they can make the packaging brighter, yet still some could not afford to keep their addiction going especially during the inflation crisis.

Question 5

EVALUATION

Answer 5

I am willing to accept that this option does not guarantee to stop high smoking rates as there is some justified criticism of such a proposal. One of them is that those with high smoking rates will continue to smoke – people still buy when it’s £12 for a packet of 20 - instead of cutting down they will cut down on other necessities such as food, gas, and electricity bills which causes no difference to those who are addicted (BK). However, I do believe this option does merit some serious consideration as it will particularly decrease the amount of young smokers there are.