Point one - smoking

Question 1

Explain

Answer 1

Smoking tobacco products is a crucial factor in causing ill-health of the population.
Smoking is an addiction that has been linked to numerous diseases such as lung disease, cancer and even premature death. It is widely undisputed that those who engage in smoking tobacco/nicotine products will, on average, die younger than those who don’t.

Question 2

Example

Answer 2

The significance of smoking on health can be exemplified by ASH (2023) who reported that there are over 9,000 smoking related deaths in Scotland every year.

Question 3

Analysis

Answer 3

This would suggest that considering that smoking accounts for a 5th of all deaths in Scotland, smoking arguably must be more significant that some other factors in causing health inequalities.

Question 4

Rebuttal

Answer 4

However, many people argue that alcohol consumption may in fact be more significant than smoking in causing health inequalities in Scotland.