Chamber and committees

As we made clear in the previous answer, the most effective protection from Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) is a completely smoke-free environment. The Scottish Executive does not endorse ventilation systems alone as offering complete protection against the health risks associated with passive smoking. While ventilation technology has the potential for reducing levels of exposure to second hand tobacco smoke and associated carcinogens provided it is properly operated and maintained, there remains no scientific evidence or consensus about whether there is any safe level of exposure to ETS.

The Scottish Executive does not hold information on the number of additional children who would gain entitlement if the criteria for a free school meal were extended to include children of parents on a new deal scheme or in receipt of a disability living allowance. However, the Department of Work and Pensions advise that the majority of participants on new deal programmes are in receipt of income-based benefits and will therefore already be entitled to claim free school meals for their children. They also advise that figures for the number of children of adults in receipt of disability living allowance are not available. Extending entitlement to children aged five to 18 whose parents are in receipt of housing benefit and/or council tax benefit would pick-up an additional 40,000 children at an estimated cost of £13 million to £15 million per annum for meals alone.

Following the standing arrangement with COSLA to review liquor licensing fees every three years, it is our intention to begin the next such review in the autumn.

The available information is shown in the following table. Tobacco consumption is not usually explicitly recorded on hospital discharge records, although it is recognised that a considerable number of diseases are precipitated by tobacco use. Scottish Hospital ^1,2 Discharge Records with an Explicit Diagnosis of Alcohol-Related Conditions, Drug Misuse or Obesity; 1997-98 to 2001-02

Discharge Period	Diagnosis3
	Alcohol-Related Conditions	Drug Misuse	Obesity
1997-98	41,671	4,747	3,884
1998-99	42,380	5,659	4,003
1999-00	45,308	6,150	4,115
2000-01	44,685	6,557	4,288
2001-02P	46,556	6,516	4,444

Source: ISD Scotland, SMR01 & SMR04Notes:^PProvisional1. Includes acute hospitals, mental illness hospitals and psychiatric units (excludes maternity hospitals).2. Information on hospital discharges relates to episodes of in-patient or day case care rather than individual patients. The same patient may account for several hospital admissions during the course of a year (or across years) and will be counted each time in the table. Transfer cases have been included.3. Diagnostic information is defined by using the World Health Organisation's International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD10).Alcohol related conditions: F10, R780, Y90, Y91, Z637, Z811, Z864, Z714, Z502, T506, Y573, T510, T59, X45, X65, Y15, O354, Q860, P043, Z721, Z133, G621, G721, K860, I426, K70, K292, G312, E52. Drug Misuse: F11, F12, F13, F14, F15, F16, F18, F19. Obesity: E66.

It is not possible to give precise figures on deaths resulting from tobacco use. However, it is estimated that each year more than 13,000 people in Scotland die from smoking-related diseases, including lung cancer, coronary heart disease and stroke.Specific morbidity data related to obesity in Scotland is not held centrally. Obesity is a known risk factor in the development of a range of chronic diseases including coronary heart disease, some types of cancer, stroke and hypertension but is not recorded as the cause of death.There is no definitive methodology for counting alcohol-related deaths. Figures published by GROS (see footnote) are as follows:

1997	851
1998	912
1999	1,013
2000	1,129
2,001	1,219

These figures are based on a narrow selection of the underlying causes of death and may under-estimate the total number of alcohol-related deaths in Scotland. Final data for 2002 is not yet available.The number of drug-related deaths as recorded by GROS are as follows:

1997	224
1998	249
1999	291
2000	292
2,001	332

Data for 2002 will not be available until autumn 2003.FootnoteThe figures quoted for alcohol-related deaths are based on the following narrow selection of underlying causes of death (the relevant codes of the 9th and 10th Revisions of the International Classification of Diseases are given in the brackets).1997-1999: ICD91. Alcoholic psychoses (291);2. Alcoholic dependence syndrome (303);3. Non-dependent abuse of alcohol (305.0);4. Alcoholic cardiomyopathy (425.5), and5. Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis with a mention of alcohol (571.0-571.3).2000-2002: ICD101. Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol (F10.0-F10.9);2. Alcoholic cardiomyopathy (I42.6), and3. Alcoholic liver disease (K70.0-K70.9).

The Report of The Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health published in 1998 (ISBN 0-11-322124-X) included evidence on exposure to passive smoking. The committee concluded that exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in (a) children causes serious respiratory illness, asthmatic attacks, is likely to cause middle ear disease and is associated with sudden infant death: and in (b) adults causes lung cancer and ischaemic heart disease.

There are no plans to alter the 24-hour bus lane restriction on the A90 trunk road in Aberdeen. However, the Scottish Executive will continue to liase with Aberdeen City Council when changes occur to their bus lane regulations.

I refer the member to the answers given to questions S2W-273 on 4 June 2003 and S2W-313 on 5 June 2003. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

Ventilation systems can improve the comfort and welfare of the public and employees. The best systems can, provided they are properly operated and maintained, protect non-smokers from exposure to carcinogens. However, without being able to guarantee that such equipment is properly operated and maintained, the Scottish Executive does not endorse it as being as effective in reducing the health risks associated with passive smoking as smoke-free areas.

The Scottish Executive is continuing to work with NHS Health Scotland on a communication strategy to raise public awareness of the risks associated with passive smoking. Passive smoking is being addressed in a broader tobacco control context which includes activity in the home, the workplace and in public places. Work to date has included a variety of public awareness techniques, including TV, radio and press campaigns. Work is currently under way to further develop and advance this work through more mass media advertising and support materials. These new campaigns are expected to be launched later this year. The Partnership Agreement commits the Scottish Executive to consult on an action plan to achieve considerably more smoke free restaurants and pubs.