UK government considers raising smoking age limit

The Department of Health (DoH) announced on Monday it was considering whether to raise the age limit for buying cigarettes or tobacco from 16 in a bid to cut the level of smoking among teenagers.

A consultation exercise has been launched to look at whether the age limit should be increased to 17 or 18, which would bring it into line with the sale of alcohol.

The government is also looking at whether there should be tougher measures introduced at shops that sell cigarettes to under-age children.

“Smoking is dangerous at any age, but the younger people start, the more likely they are to become life-long smokers and to die early,” Health Minister Caroline Flint said.

“Someone who starts smoking aged 15 is three times more likely to die of cancer due to smoking than someone who starts in their late twenties.”

The government said about 9 percent of children aged between 11 and 15 smoke. Raising the age limit to the same required to buy alcohol would bring Britain into line with the likes of Canada, Australia and the United States.

It is also pondering new sanctions including banning shops that regularly sell cigarettes to children from being allowed to sell tobacco at all.

The DoH said there was evidence that nearly 70 percent of underage smokers bought cigarettes from small local shops and newsagents.

“Access to cigarettes by under-16s is not as difficult as it should be and this is partly due to retailers selling tobacco to those under the legal age,” Flint said.

“If a particular shop is known locally as the place for children and teenagers to easily buy tobacco, we want to stop that shop selling it.”

Anti-smoking campaign groups welcomed the proposals but warned they might not have much effect.

“I don’t think it will affect the number of young smokers as children smoke because it is seen as an adult habit, so in a way you are giving children even more incentive to start,” Ian Willmore, of Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) told the BBC.

The consultation comes after MPs voted in February to ban smoking in pubs, restaurants and work places from the middle of next year.

The ban has already been introduced in Scotland and Ireland.

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