UK considering raising smoking age to 21.

It has been mooted in press that consideration, by some think tanks, is being given to raising smoking age to 21.

It is all bovine excrement anyway as most people who smoke get hooked whilst underage at school - just look outside our local school next to local supermarket - there is always a huddle of school children hidden from view of teachers puffing away.

So we consider people are old enough to have sex, marry and have children at 16 but not old enough until 21 to decide if they can smoke?

Why not go the whole hog and raise it to pension age!

This idea is a dangerous precedence to set as it flies in the face of 18 years old being age of majority.

Nothing is going to stop 18 yr old (or younger) children getting access to cigarettes. You will just end up with "cigarette dealers" hanging around schools like the endless scourge of drug dealers. It will probably be harder to stop them, unless actually caught selling, as possession of cigarettes will not be illegal if over 21!

Setting an arbitrary age is not the solution.

The only realistic solution is to put a £1 tax per cigarette and people OF ALL AGES will stop - youngsters particularly will not be able to afford it then for sure. Of course the government is totally disengenous as they do not REALLY want to stop smoking as this would lead to a huge loss in tax revenue.

At the same time, the government should ban import of cheap cigarettes via duty free.

Nothing is ever going to stop bulk smugglers - hell we probably invented smuggling in UK as an industry by virtue of being a seafaring island race LOL. All you can do is impose punitive sentences.

If they do succeed - what is next - alcohol?

Smoking shouldn't even be a thing in this day and age, it should have been banned long ago, for me this doesn't go anywhere near far enough, I'd ban anybody born after 2000 from buying them, and then we can finally be on the road to getting rid of those vile-smelling people who pollute my lungs every time I walk down the street.

I agree with both of you. One of my parents died as a direct result of cigarette smoking (cardiovascular disease and bronchitis). Unfortunately, as @cereberus notes, banning is not a solution. If it were, we wouldn't have a cocaine problem. The best solution would seem to be effective education of children - but even that is fraught with problems: the best people to do the educating are parents, but smoking parents are seen as hypocrites by their children if they advocate not smoking. Teenagers tend to see third parties as 'do gooders'.
I was a teacher, and did what I could to encourage children to weigh up the "advantages" and "disadvantages" of smoking and come to their own conclusions. The disadvantages list was long, whilst the advantages list had just two items on it. (The big one was fitting in with one's peers, the other was keeping midges away) - set against those the disadvantages included 'makes your skin wrinkly', 'makes your clothes stink', expensive, and all the medical increased risks.
I still had children telling me that 'more people die on the roads than die from smoking-related diseases, but you don't ban driving' - which by the way is completely wrong - many more die from smoking related diseases.

Gave it up 30 years ago, but suffer for doing it now. back then it was the norm to smoke.

Senecio said:

I agree with both of you. One of my parents died as a direct result of cigarette smoking (cardiovascular disease and bronchitis). Unfortunately, as @cereberus notes, banning is not a solution. If it were, we wouldn't have a cocaine problem. The best solution would seem to be effective education of children - but even that is fraught with problems: the best people to do the educating are parents, but smoking parents are seen as hypocrites by their children if they advocate not smoking. Teenagers tend to see third parties as 'do gooders'.
I was a teacher, and did what I could to encourage children to weigh up the "advantages" and "disadvantages" of smoking and come to their own conclusions. The disadvantages list was long, whilst the advantages list had just two items on it. (The big one was fitting in with one's peers, the other was keeping midges away) - set against those the disadvantages included 'makes your skin wrinkly', 'makes your clothes stink', expensive, and all the medical increased risks.
I still had children telling me that 'more people die on the roads than die from smoking-related diseases, but you don't ban driving' - which by the way is completely wrong - many more die from smoking related diseases.

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I too would love to ban it but as we both agree banning is not the answer. The only somewhat effective way is to use punitive taxation. A good friend of mine now vapes after smoking for 50 years and that was due to cost. The key point is to price it way beyond children's price range. Having said that, they might go on to more dangerous drugs as a consequence, but hopefully not.

I am not convinced yet about long term impact of vaping as a substitute by my friend only puffs rather than drawing back, so I hope that is better, but something alarms me i.e. inhaling artificial chemicals. Are we going to see a load of new lung/mouth cancer cases?

Yes, I am an ex smoker, but not for many years. I am with Z3 it should be totally banned. And so should those electric fags too.

Nicotine is more addictive than most street drugs.

Personally, I've never smoked. But I sympathize with those trying to kick it.


Too bad all the crap can't be wiped out (legal and illegal).

z3r010 said:

Smoking shouldn't even be a thing in this day and age, it should have been banned long ago, for me this doesn't go anywhere near far enough, I'd ban anybody born after 2000 from buying them, and then we can finally be on the road to getting rid of those vile-smelling people who pollute my lungs every time I walk down the street.

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Yes it should, I quit in 1994, wish I never started.

I don't smoke and it should be banned.

jbcarreon123 said:

I don't smoke and it should be banned.

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I did, and I agree