The number of teenagers in Scotland smoking has dropped, since the introduction of the smoking ban across the UK, according to University of Glasgow.
Teenager girls have been reported to be the most influenced by new laws that have meant smokers have had to step outside public places to smoke.
The study that was published by Nicotine and Tobacco Research found that that the number of girls smoking dropped by 4.3% whilst the number of boys smoking dropped by 3.5% across UK.
Scotland was the first country in the UK to enforce a comprehensive smoke-free ban in public places in 2006, which was followed by Northern Ireland and Wales in April 2007 then England three months after.
Smoking is estimated to kill around 13,500 Scots each year and is responsible for 33,500 hospital admissions, the Scotland Government aim to make Scotland smoke free by 2034.
Dr Vittal Katikireddi said: “The results demonstrate a fairly big change in the number of young people starting smoking – particularly in girls.
“This shows other countries have a real opportunity to learn from Scotland’s early lead. It also tells us how public health policy has a real impact, not just on adults, but on children too, by bringing about a culture leading to a healthier life.”
It has also been revealed that the number of teenagers smoking in Wigan has also dropped with the number of teenagers smoking dropping by 20% since the ban of smoking in public places was put into place in England.
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