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Monday, 01 May 2006 10:41 | BNN: British Nursing News Online · www.bnn-online.co.uk
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A ban in the sale of cigarettes to under-18s could be the next step in Scotland’s anti-smoking plans, it emerged yesterday.
Experts who have been studying the problem of teenage smoking are expected to recommend raising the legal age for purchasing tobacco products to 18.
Ministers have not yet decided whether to back the recommendations, but it is believed that First Minister Jack McConnell’s determination to reduce smoking rates in Scotland will see them do so.
The researchers suggested that allowing teenagers to buy cigarettes at 16, but prevent them buying alcohol until they are 18, sends out the wrong message.
Maureen Moore, the chief executive of Ash Scotland and a member of the expert group, said: "Smoking is far worse than drinking. I am in favour of the ban on under-18s being able to buy cigarettes as part of a whole tobacco control strategy.
"If you raise the age, you are sending out a powerful message about the danger of tobacco and bringing it in line with the restrictions on the sale of alcohol."
A recent study found that 6 per cent of 13-year-olds in Scotland some regularly, with nearly two-thirds getting their cigarettes from shops. And twenty per cent of 15-year-olds smoke regularly, with 86 per cent buying cigarettes from shops.
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