Massive fall in children’s exposure to deadly second-hand smoke in their own home since 2012 as a range of SNP policies begin to bite

By Professor John Robertson, OBA From The Scottish Health Survey 2023 – volume 1: main report, published today, the above graph reveals a marked fall in the percentage of children exposed to second-hand smoke in their own homes.1 In 2016,  the SNP Government, made it illegal to smoke in a vehicle carrying anyone under 18.2 In 2022, the SNP Government made it an offence to smoke with in 15 meters of an NHS hospital building.3 In 2022, only 15% of Scots smoked compare to 28% in 2003.4 The above and other initiatives over the last 17 years will have contributed to this … Continue reading Massive fall in children’s exposure to deadly second-hand smoke in their own home since 2012 as a range of SNP policies begin to bite

Mussel-bound – Scotland’s shellfish industry booms

From the Scottish Government today: In 2023, 10,311 tonnes of common mussel were produced for the table market, this is the highest level of common mussel production recorded in Scotland; During 2023, 3.9 million Pacific oyster shells were produced for the table market; Common mussel and Pacific oyster remain the main species produced in terms of value and tonnage. Common mussel production increased by 13%; The Scottish shellfish farming sector is estimated to be worth approximately £14.1 million at first sale value, an increase of 36% on the 2022 value. https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-shellfish-farm-production-survey-2023/documents/ Continue reading Mussel-bound – Scotland’s shellfish industry booms

Deadly E.coli-contaminated cheese is from Lancashire where unpasteurised milk for cheese production is allowed unlike in Scotland

BBC Scotland has an extended report on the death in Scotland and does, in the text, tell us the cheese is from Preston in Lancashire. Prof Pennington, above, is on BBC Breakfast to tell us twice that E.coli is more common in Scotland than in England but fails to mention that Scotland, with only 8% of the UK population, has a far higher presence of the bacteria-carrying animals with, for example, almost 30% of the UK herd of breeding cattle and 4% of the massive EU herd. https://www.nfus.org.uk/farming-facts/what-we-produce.aspx We also do not hear from Pennington or any other media, as … Continue reading Deadly E.coli-contaminated cheese is from Lancashire where unpasteurised milk for cheese production is allowed unlike in Scotland