Move to tackle smoking and fires

Strathclyde Fire & Rescue has teamed up with NHS Scotland to encourage people to stop smoking in a move to improve health and reduce fires.

In addition to damaging health, smoking is one of the leading causes of house fires in the West of Scotland. By working together, the organisations will tackle complementary goals - to reduce the number of people smoking and the number of fires that are caused by cigarettes and other smoking materials.

Strathclyde Fire and Rescue delivers around 10,000 Home Fire Safety Visits (HFSVs) each year. And now, in  addition to promoting fire safety advice, firefighters will provide NHS smoking-cessation packs to all relevant householders that they visit.

Assistant Chief Officer Lewis Ramsay, Director of Community Safety at Strathclyde Fire & Rescue, said: "Fire does discriminate and a number of lifestyle choices including smoking feature regularly as contributory factors in serious house fires, many of which involve fatal or non- fatal casualties.

"We know from a range of studies, including the recently published "Scotland Together " report on community fire safety, that agencies must work together to effectively manage risk and help people live safer lives.

"Health and fire issues are inextricably linked and I am very pleased indeed to work closely with NHS Health Scotland in this innovative campaign. I am confident that our approach will be effective and look forward to monitoring progress over coming months."

Andrew Harris, Health Improvement Programme Manager for tobacco at NHS Health Scotland, said: "Smoking currently causes more than 13,000 deaths each year in Scotland. Second hand smoke in the home is also a major health risk, especially for young children.  So when you consider that cigarettes also cause so many house fires, it makes a lot of sense for health services and fire services to work together to encourage people to stop smoking.

"NHS Health Scotland is delighted to be working with Strathclyde Fire and Rescue to encourage thousands of households to go smoke free."

Although fire officers will not offer health advice, they will be able to direct smokers to 'Smokeline', NHS Health Scotland's freephone smoking cessation advice line. All fire stations will be issued with supplies of the Smokeline promotional card, a passive smoking leaflet, Aspire magazine and smoking cessation posters for use in home fire safety visits and community safety talks.

The project will be evaluated using data on smokers' households, casualties where smoking is a contributory factor and NHS Health Scotland data which tracks where users have heard about the Smokeline service.

The Scotland Together report.