Most smokers start smoking during childhood and two-thirds of those who try smoking early will become regular smokers later, said the study published in The BMJ
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London: Raising the legal age for tobacco purchase from 18 to 21 years is likely to reduce smoking rates in young people and make the generation smoke-free, experts suggest.
Most smokers start smoking during childhood and two-thirds of those who try smoking early will become regular smokers later, said the study published in The BMJ.
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Increasing the legal age to 21 would make it harder for children to obtain cigarettes and take the legal age beyond school age, said Nicholas Hopkinson, a respiratory specialist from the Imperial College London.
"Smoking is a contagious habit transmitted within peer groups, and the age increase will protect younger children from exposure to older pupils in school who smoke. It will also remove a potential source of supply within schools," said Hopkinson.
He stressed that besides helping existing smokers to quit, preventing young people from taking to smoking is imperative.
Hopkinson also suggested that a "polluter pays" tax set to raise around $198 million per year from tobacco manufacturers will help to pay for a revitalised, evidence-based set of tobacco control policies.
"This could include the introduction of a retail licensing scheme for tobacco products, which could help limit underage sales. It would also make it easier to ban sales from those who break the law," Hopkinson said.
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