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Seòmar agus comataidhean

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 11 January 2025
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Displaying 1012 contributions

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Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Vaping (Public Health Impact)

Meeting date: 14 November 2023

Emma Harper

Do we need to revise how we support people to quit smoking? The NHS “Quit Your Way Scotland” service is part of that support.

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Vaping (Public Health Impact)

Meeting date: 14 November 2023

Emma Harper

I said interstitial lung disease, not pulmonary fibrosis, and I was not talking about nicotine but the other inhalable substances or components that are in there.

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Vaping (Public Health Impact)

Meeting date: 14 November 2023

Emma Harper

Good morning, everybody. I want to pick up on a question from Ivan McKee about data. As a registered nurse, I understand that when somebody comes into the hospital through a medical assessment unit they are asked, “Do you smoke—yes or no?” If it is yes, they are offered a smoking cessation pathway. Is that question extended to ask, “Do you smoke or vape?”, with smoking cessation then offered in that way?

Also, what do we do in paediatric admissions? It is rather difficult to ask paediatric patients that question, especially if their mum or dad is sitting there. For example, when they come in with shortness of breath, the first thing that we think is that it might be an asthma attack, but it might not be; it might be as a result of high doses of nicotine in vaping, for instance. Are we pursuing that now? I understand that people in some health boards ask about that, but others do not.

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Vaping (Public Health Impact)

Meeting date: 14 November 2023

Emma Harper

Jonathan Coutts’s work shows that a lot of companies quote research by Nutt et al that says that e-cigarettes are 95 per cent safer than standard cigarettes, but that study involved 12 people who were invited to take part and it was not peer reviewed. Two of the people who participated also had financial links with the vaping industry. Will you jog my memory on the argument that e-cigarettes are 95 per cent safer?

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Vaping (Public Health Impact)

Meeting date: 14 November 2023

Emma Harper

Is there a danger that a flavour ban could deter adult smokers from switching to vapes? I know that encouraging people to stop smoking is very complicated. If we banned flavours, would that make it harder for people to stop smoking?

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Vaping (Public Health Impact)

Meeting date: 14 November 2023

Emma Harper

Earlier, I talked about smoking cessation and questions that are asked when people are admitted to hospital, for example. Do the colours and the sweetie flavours that you have talked about inhibit cessation of nicotine device use? How can we support a better transition to help people to move away from cigarettes? I know that some people use e-cigarettes to help smoking cessation, but where are we now with regard to the way that flavours and colours have been used to encourage people to pick up e-cigarettes?

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012 (Post-legislative Scrutiny)

Meeting date: 7 November 2023

Emma Harper

Good morning, everybody. I am interested in how we compare with other countries that have introduced minimum unit pricing. I know that Canada, Wales and Ireland have done so. I have in front of me a World Health Organization report that talks about how we are reducing alcohol deaths by introducing minimum unit pricing.

What work has Public Health Scotland done to look at other countries? Canada introduced MUP in 2014. Is there something that we can learn from other people?

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 7 November 2023

Emma Harper

Good morning, panel. I am interested in the secure care standards and pathways. I have just read that there are 44 standards that describe care that should be delivered with dignity, compassion, sensitivity and respect and in a person-centred way, in the sense that children make their decisions but with the involvement of everybody in the team. How do the regulations intersect with the secure care pathway and standards, and should the standards be referenced in the regulations?

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 7 November 2023

Emma Harper

We talk a lot about helping to deliver the aims of the Promise. How does that align with what is being proposed for the work at Foxgrove? That work is in addition to the secure care pathway, and it is also delivering the outcomes of the Promise.

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 7 November 2023

Emma Harper

I will make a short comment. The regulations introduce a brand new facility for Scotland. It will be the only specialist adolescent in-patient service in Scotland, and I look forward to its progress. Because it is a completely new facility, I would be interested in the committee continuing to get further information by correspondence or face to face as the matter progresses so that we can inquire about operational issues and the facility’s effectiveness.