Scots to raise tobacco age to 18
Fresh from banning smoking in public places it appears the Scottish Executive is about to unveil plans to raise the age limit for buying fags to 18.
The executive has had a team of experts looking at what to do next with tobacco and reports suggest raising the legal age limit is high on the agenda.
Scottish Health Minister Andy Kerr said the radical move would be "an important step forward" in preventing young Scots taking up the habit.
He told the Evening Times: "We must get a strong message across to young Scots about the dangers of smoking. We want to deter people from taking up a habit which leads to thousands of deaths each year."
Your CommentsKen Nason via email 12/09/2006"If you are going to bring in draconian measures to control peoples behaviour then why only do it half heartedly?
What is the point in making buying under 18 an offence when what you should do is make it an offence for the under 18 to actually smoke? Could this be because that only presents one "offender" to be responsible for their actions and removes the easy target of the poor retailer who inadvertantly sells to under aged.(and revenue!)
The more cynical amongst us might assume that this is yet another manufactured push for the population to accept ID cards as a way of making life easier for themselves."
Robert Feal-Martinez via email 12/09/2006"So who were these experts. It can't have of been ASH they were against raising the age if I recall. They favour massive tax hikes, perversely believing despite the evidence of Ireland where tax is at 80%, that, that doesn't work either. Ken is of course right. Yet another easy target rather than the 'criminal' being prosecuted. This bunch of losers in the Scottish Executive know they will be out of a job come next year so they are again attempting to convince the gullible voter they care. It's a good job the UK government ban is being challenged, when we win our review which is looking more and more likely according to out legal advisors, Scotland will indeed be isolated because Wales and Northern Ireland will be forced to follow England."
Liz Barber via email 12/09/2006"As with accessing alcohol, under 18s will still manage to buy cigarettes, but no doubt more retailers will fall foul of sting operations carried out with the same zeal as the smoke spy operations currently ongoing in soviet Scotland.
As I recall, ASH came out against a proposal to raise the legal smoking age to 21, perhaps because it is unlikely that a person who has never smoked up to the age of 21 will start to smoke thereafter.
Who could big pharma sell their tobacco replacement productsd to then?? (and what would be the point of ASH and its salaried harpies?).
If the SE is intent on saving the young from death and injury, perhaps it should look to raise the driving age, particularly for men, to 21. And ditto for enlisting in the Army.
