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| Experts call for smoking age rise | Experts call for smoking age rise |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The legal age for smoking in Scotland should be raised from 16 to 18, according to a team of experts. | The legal age for smoking in Scotland should be raised from 16 to 18, according to a team of experts. |
| The Smoking Prevention Working Group has also called for a ban on shops displaying cigarettes for sale. | The Smoking Prevention Working Group has also called for a ban on shops displaying cigarettes for sale. |
| The group was asked to advise the Scottish Executive on steps that could be taken to build on the ban on smoking in public places, introduced in April. | The group was asked to advise the Scottish Executive on steps that could be taken to build on the ban on smoking in public places, introduced in April. |
| Health Minister Andy Kerr will decide whether to act on the group's 31 recommendations. | Health Minister Andy Kerr will decide whether to act on the group's 31 recommendations. |
| The group, which includes academics and health experts, also wants tough fines for shopkeepers who break the law and a "negative licensing" scheme so shops which repeatedly sell cigarettes to under-age youngsters are barred from selling tobacco products. | The group, which includes academics and health experts, also wants tough fines for shopkeepers who break the law and a "negative licensing" scheme so shops which repeatedly sell cigarettes to under-age youngsters are barred from selling tobacco products. |
| More than any other single thing, the cigarette has blighted the health and shortened the lives of people in Scotland for over a century Working group report | More than any other single thing, the cigarette has blighted the health and shortened the lives of people in Scotland for over a century Working group report |
| It said smoking should be barred in school grounds, and colleges and universities should consider how to help youngsters avoid taking up tobacco or other drugs. | |
| The report, written on behalf of the group by Dr Laurence Gruer, director of public health science at NHS Health Scotland, said the recommendations should form the basis of a five-year plan by the executive. | |
| The report quotes 2004 figures which suggest that 5% of boys and 7% of girls are regular smokers at the age of 13. | The report quotes 2004 figures which suggest that 5% of boys and 7% of girls are regular smokers at the age of 13. |
| This rises to 14% and 24% by the age of 15. | This rises to 14% and 24% by the age of 15. |
| "More than any other single thing, the cigarette has blighted the health and shortened the lives of people in Scotland for over a century," the report said. | "More than any other single thing, the cigarette has blighted the health and shortened the lives of people in Scotland for over a century," the report said. |
| The report was written by Dr Laurence Gruer | The report was written by Dr Laurence Gruer |
| "If the health of people in Scotland is to be improved and inequalities reduced, smoking prevention must be a top priority." | "If the health of people in Scotland is to be improved and inequalities reduced, smoking prevention must be a top priority." |
| Anti-smoking campaign body Ash Scotland, which was represented on the group, welcomed the findings and called on ministers to accept the recommendations. | Anti-smoking campaign body Ash Scotland, which was represented on the group, welcomed the findings and called on ministers to accept the recommendations. |
| Chief executive Maureen Moore said: "It is vital that action is taken to help young people say no to an addiction that will eventually kill one in two long-term smokers." | |
| She said 25% of 15-year-old girls currently smoke, with 87% of them buying cigarettes from shops, supermarkets or petrol stations. | She said 25% of 15-year-old girls currently smoke, with 87% of them buying cigarettes from shops, supermarkets or petrol stations. |
| "Having the age at 16 obviously doesn't work," Ms Moore said. | "Having the age at 16 obviously doesn't work," Ms Moore said. |
| Careful consideration | |
| Dr Andrew Buist, deputy chairman of the British Medical Assocation's Scottish general practitioners committee, said: "Doctors have been calling on the executive to tackle the youth smoking epidemic in Scotland and we would urge the health minister to accept these recommendations in their entirety. | |
| "The average smoker will lose about 10 years of life because of smoking. Many smokers take up the habit at a young age and the majority, by their early 20s, wish they had never started. | |
| "The most effective way to address smoking is to do all we can to discourage youngsters from taking up the habit in the first place." | |
| Smokers' lobby group Forest said it was supporting the plans and that smoking should be "for adults". | |
| A Scottish Executive spokeswoman said: "We will now give careful consideration to the report and its recommendations before publishing a full response in due course." | A Scottish Executive spokeswoman said: "We will now give careful consideration to the report and its recommendations before publishing a full response in due course." |
| If Mr Kerr follows the recommendations, it would result in Scotland having some of the toughest anti-smoking laws in the world. | If Mr Kerr follows the recommendations, it would result in Scotland having some of the toughest anti-smoking laws in the world. |