Call for action to prevent deaths from chronic diseases

By Jenness Mitchell & Kaye Nicolson

Ten Scottish health charities have joined forces calling for action in the battle to tackle premature deaths from chronic diseases.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) – such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, stoke and chronic lung disease – claim the lives of nearly 40,000 Scots every year.

Campaigners believe almost a quarter of those deaths could be prevented if more was done to tackle tobacco use, alcohol consumption and unhealthy diets.

Life-changing: Colin Rattray lost his leg through diabetes.

Colin Rattray, who was active and healthy before he injured his knee in his 20s, suffered life-changing complications when months in plaster and a diet of eating junk food led to type 2 diabetes.

He went on to lose part of his right leg and two toes on his left.

Speaking to STV News, he said: “I considered sugar to be literally sugar you would put in your tea, sweets. But I don’t think people think about if they’re consuming something out of a burger shop or a fish and chip shop how many hidden sugars there are.”

In association with a global campaign, ten Scottish charities published an open letter calling for urgent action.

Although Scotland has been a “pioneer in public health” with policies like the smoking ban and minimum alcohol pricing, the campaigners are calling for more to be done and believe education and prevention will ultimately save lives.

They said: “Evidence shows the environment around us heavily influences whether we smoke, the amount of alcohol we drink and what we eat.

“The visibility of products on our high streets and the way they are marketed all contribute to Scotland having one of the lowest healthy life expectancies in Western Europe.

“This is particularly true in our most deprived communities where levels of smoking, harmful alcohol use and overweight and obesity are often at their highest.

“Research shows us that this is in part due to the higher presence of outlets in these areas selling alcohol, tobacco and unhealthy food and drink.

“We must act now to ensure that the healthy choice is an easy choice for everyone in Scotland.”

The charities – Alcohol Focus Scotland, ASH Scotland, Obesity Action Scotland, SHAAP, Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation, British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Stroke Association and Diabetes Scotland – said the coronavirus pandemic has provided a “wake-up call”.

They stated: “We are becoming aware of possible links between smoking, alcohol intake and obesity on the severity of Covid-19 infections, highlighting the need to take action now more than ever as we continue to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.”

The charities are now calling on all political parties to pledge their commitment to the cause.

They added: “In this week of awareness, we are calling on all political parties to place the prevention of Scotland’s biggest killers as a priority and to give a strong commitment, ahead of next year’s Scottish Parliamentary elections, to work with us to create a step change in the health of the nation.”