I, too, want to thank Richard Lochhead for securing this important debate. As he and Anas Sarwar mentioned, cancer can have an impact on all of us.
I pay tribute to Richard Lochhead for his candid address, in which he described the brutal impact of a cancer diagnosis and what it can mean, and how his wife described the feeling on receiving such a diagnosis as being like falling off a cliff. I also thank him for telling us about Abbie Main, who was clearly a special lass. Her legacy of sparkle and of raising money to make life better for others is truly inspiring. Other members, such as Alexander Burnett, Kenny Gibson, David Torrance and Tom Arthur, who described the inspiring work of young Sean McBain, also gave powerful, personal and emotional testimonies, and for that I am very grateful.
Liam McArthur spoke about the fantastic work that CLAN does. My Shetland connections have told me about the transformative impact that it can have, the special place that it has in the hearts of many people in the northern isles and how much phenomenal fundraising is done to support it. I like the idea of the peedie blether.
I want to highlight an example of the innovative and exciting work that is being done as people recognise the need for us to embrace a preventative approach to cancer. A young woman in my constituency is offering free facials for women who go for their smear tests.
It is fitting that we are having this debate in the build-up to world cancer day, which is intended to target misinformation, raise awareness and tackle the stigma that is so often associated with cancer. All those things are important, not just for those who are currently affected by cancer but, crucially, in helping to reduce the number of people who develop cancer in the first place.
I echo Richard Lochhead’s call for our fellow MSPs to wear the unity band, which I am pleased to be wearing. As well as being a sign of support and solidarity, it helps to raise crucial funds for the work of Cancer Research UK. I also agree with what Richard Lochhead said about the need for unity in tackling many of the issues that he identified. We need a unity of purpose as we seek to get our nation healthy and to prevent the devastation of cancer.
The Scottish Government is determined to play its part in tackling cancer. Current projections by Cancer Research UK tell us that one in two people in the UK born after 1960 will be affected by cancer. We need to work to reduce that figure over time and must ensure that the support is in place to help those who are affected by the disease. We recognise that significant progress has been made over the past 10 years, during which time the overall cancer mortality rate has fallen by 11 per cent. However, we also recognise that more needs to be done to reduce the risk factors that are associated with cancer.
That is why our £100 million cancer strategy, “Beating Cancer: Ambition and Action”, sets out our ambitions for the future of cancer services in Scotland, which are to improve the prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment of cancer, and to improve aftercare for all those people who are affected by it. We recognise the need to turn those ambitions into reality.
As Richard Lochhead notes in his motion, smoking is the largest preventable cause of cancer that we know of. Our efforts on smoking rates have been bold, and remarkable progress has been made to date, which illustrates that when we take an ambitious approach, regardless of which political party champions it, we can ensure that we bring about real and tangible improvements.
Just one in five adults in Scotland now smokes, and in the past decade, the number of 15-year-olds who smoke regularly has dropped by more than two thirds to the lowest level since surveys began. I am glad that Alexander Burnett is one of those who has stopped smoking and is contributing to those statistics. That is welcome progress towards achieving the goal of being tobacco free by 2034.
This Government has also shown boldness around Scotland’s relationship with alcohol. Today’s report from NHS Health Scotland on the burden of disease shows exactly why that effort must continue.
It is right that a large focus of today’s debate is on diet and obesity, because of the cost to our NHS, the cost to our economy and, most importantly, the human cost of poor health and wellbeing as a result of obesity. Like Alison Johnstone and Anas Sarwar, I appreciate the clear consensus across all parties in recognising the need to take bold action on that.
During the past 15 years, progress towards meeting our national dietary goals has remained stubbornly challenging. Recent Scottish health survey figures show that, in Scotland, two thirds of us are overweight or obese, and one in five children is at risk of being overweight or obese. It is of great concern that this particular health problem is more marked in our most deprived areas, where obesity rates for children can be substantially higher. Excess weight is linked to a number of different types of cancer, including bowel cancer and breast cancer, which are two of the most common types. I recognise what Alex Cole-Hamilton said about cancer being indiscriminate, but we know that inequality exacerbates poor health outcomes, which means that we need to do what we can to prevent it.
Research undertaken by Cancer Research UK predicts that, if current trends continue, the rising levels of obesity could result in 670,000 avoidable cases of cancer in the next 20 years. We need to tackle that challenge head on, and we have committed to doing that, which is why we published a bold plan for improving diet, weight and activity for Scotland. The consultation closed recently and I am grateful to everyone who contributed to it. A growing body of evidence points to the action that we must take to make a real and tangible difference to people’s lives, communities and the country as a whole. I am grateful to Obesity Action Scotland, Cancer Research UK and others for their important work in this area. It has set the scene with evidence and authority to show what we need to do.
We are legislating on being a good food nation, and Richard Lochhead spoke about us needing to take the chance to reflect on what that actually means. We need to pause and ensure that the good food nation approach chimes with the approaches taken in our diet and obesity strategy.
We need to improve the food environment. That is one of the biggest changes that we need to see in Scotland. The reality is that many of us find it challenging to make healthy choices in an environment in which food and drink that is high in fat, salt and sugar is cheap, widely available, and heavily promoted. The odds are stacked against most shoppers. We have data showing that 35 per cent of all food and drink that is purchased in Scotland is on price promotion, and that figure is double the figures for Germany, France and Spain. We know that food that is high in fat, salt and sugar is more likely to be bought on promotion than healthier alternatives. Consistent with our programme for government, therefore, the new strategy proposes action to restrict the promotion of food and drink that is high in fat, salt and sugar. The first steps will to be to consider what high-fat, high-salt and high-sugar products and promotions should be targeted.
There is more that we can and will do to protect children from exposure to junk food advertising, so it is disappointing that the UK Government did not take the opportunity to extend current restrictions on broadcast advertising before the 9pm watershed. Forby that, I reiterate and underscore my appreciation for the cross-party support in the chamber and look forward to engaging with MSPs on their views of what we do in Scotland.
I have a few more points that I will make briefly. Anas Sarwar commended the work of the improving the cancer journey initiative, and I confirm that consideration is being given to the initiative and the learning that we can get from it. I thank Emma Harper for outlining the challenges of rurality for some of her constituents. Again, I am happy to facilitate dialogue between her, me and NHS Dumfries and Galloway. Tom Mason articulated the need for furthering the chief medical officer’s approach of realistic medicine and the person-centred approach of engaging with and listening to what people are telling us. Alex Cole-Hamilton also mentioned that in his remarks.
I thank everybody who has taken part in this important debate. The Scottish Parliament is at its best when it works together across political boundaries, united by a desire to create a better Scotland for us all. Regardless of the bumps that we will no doubt encounter along the way on this journey, if we succeed we stand to gain the biggest prize: a healthier, happier, and fairer Scotland.
13:44 Meeting suspended.
14:15 On resuming—