Doctors want legal age to buy cigarettes raised to 18
SCOTLAND'S doctors have renewed calls for an increase in the legal age to buy cigarettes from 16 to 18 in an attempt to deter young people from taking up smoking.
The calls came as BMA Scotland published a report on the subject on yesterday's opening day of the association's annual UK conference in Belfast.
The report said Scotland must lead the way in the UK on raising the age limit, and pointed out that the current law setting the age at 16 dated back to 1937 - long before the dangers of smoking were known.
Around 19 per cent of 15-year-olds and 6 per cent of 13-year-olds in Scotland are regular smokers. The BMA said that reducing the availability and access to cigarettes would cut the number of young smokers.
Dr Peter Terry, chairman of BMA Scotland, said: "By raising the purchase age of cigarettes to 18, ministers would send a clear message that Scotland considers tobacco use among young people to be a problem that must be addressed. We know that this approach works in discouraging young people from smoking."
