Highland Collaborative Tobacco-free Generation Award

In March 2019, I received an email from Sheila Duffy; Chief Executive of ASH Scotland, the independent Scottish charity taking action to reduce the harm caused by tobacco.  This email began:

“Congratulations!  I am delighted to inform you that the Highland Collaborative, comprising of NHS Highland Health Improvement, The Highland Council Trading Standards, Inverness College – University of Highlands and Islands Wellbeing Team, and Inverness Highlands and Islands Student Association has been nominated to receive a Tobacco-free Generation Award in recognition of the important contributions your organisation is making towards creating a tobacco-free generation.

I was particularly encouraged to hear about your fantastic collaborative work in support of the #notafavour campaign and the participation of Inverness College students who were involved in all aspects of writing and starring in the video clips created. The use of #notafavour resources in prominent locations around Inverness and a press release scheduled to coincide with the start of the campaign was well thought out. This, combined with follow up visits to local retailers by Trading Standards led to a very successful campaign.”

The email continued, inviting two representatives to an award event at the New Library at The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, at the end of April. 

I met with Shannon, one of the students who produced and starred in one of the five films created, before heading towards the Royal College of Physicians building on Queen Street in Edinburgh. We entered the building, and were shown the directions to the New Library.  Excitedly, we walked up a grand staircase and through a stunning hallway, past the garden which was projecting Scotland’s Charter for a Smoke free Generation logo, into the New Library.  It was like walking into Hogwarts! The library was stunning, with books dating back to at least the 1800s.  There was a beautiful spiral staircase in the corner which led up to the upper tier of the library – we guessed the books there were older still.  The ceiling was gorgeous green, and there were fireplaces at each end of the room.  We were welcomed by the ASH Scotland staff and fellow award winners, and enjoyed some canapés and refreshments, before being ushered through to the Great Hall for the award ceremony.

The Great Hall was another stunning room, surrounded with marble columns and figures, and portraits of physicians.  But the ceiling and chandelier were the most eye catching elements of the room for me.  Sheila Duffy began the awards event, and presented awards to other winners, alongside Charter champions.  The Award of Excellence presented to the Highland Collaborative from ASH Scotland’s Tobacco-free Charter was presented to Shannon and I by Charter Champion, Alastair MacKinnon; Chief Executive of Fast Forward, a third sector organisation that provide high quality health education and prevention interventions and projects. 

Attending the award event was a really positive experience; it was so interesting to hear about other work to project children and young people from tobacco and associated harms.  There’s lots of great work happening across Scotland, and we’re delighted to be part of it, and have our collaborative efforts be recognised at national level. 

Reluctantly, Shannon and I had to leave the Royal College of Physicians, not before taking a lot of pictures, which can be seen within the following image gallery.

To see the short films that Shannon and the other students created and starred in, please visit the following links, which lead to their respective YouTube video:

#notafavour Penniless
#notafavour Shop Fine
#notafavour Test Purchasing
#notafavour Bad Influence
#notafavour Food v Fags

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•