Complete Ban on Smoking for young people?

It has been suggested that a complete ban on smoking for those born after 2000 be trialled.

Is it a good idea? would it work?

Certainly government moves such as advertising bans, a ban on indoor smoking in public places, bans in railways stations and on public transport, plain packaging laws have reduced smoking to less than 18% of the adult population. Is this the next logical step?

Let's not muddy the waters with comparison to, say, alcohol, there is no safe dose for cigarettes. Hopefully smoking will eventually be treated like other addictions and carried on in the privacy of the addict's own home or at least out of sight.

Is a complete ban on selling these drugs to people born after 2000 the way to go next?

Re: Complete Ban on Smoking for young people?

They've banned cannabis, etc but that hasn't stopped it. Banning things doesn't work, education goes part way but it's not possible to stop people harming themselves one way or another.

Re: Complete Ban on Smoking for young people?

Bans like this would never work. If the ban extended to making an offence to possess cigarettes, the crime rate with explode.

People usually start smoking because of peer pressure. There is your problem.

Re: Complete Ban on Smoking for young people?

I do not think it is a good Idea.
Why people do things is partly due to how they are brought up, they tend to mimic what is happening in the life of their peers.
The best way is to educate people as to what is bad for them and how it will effect their health.

Re: Complete Ban on Smoking for young people?

The best way perhaps to curb smoking amongst the young is to make it "uncool", but how you would manage this without the help of celebrities or teen heroes I'm not sure. Banning it only makes it more exciting surely....

Re: Complete Ban on Smoking for young people?

How on earth would you police a ban, people are not supposed to sell cigarettes to the under aged now but they do.

I understand a lot of cigarettes are sold illegally in this country anyway, they are smuggled in from abroad to avoid paying duty. I am sure the people selling these cigarettes illegally won't be interested in the age of the users.

Re: Complete Ban on Smoking for young people?

There is nothing good about cigarettes at all. I would certainly insist on a ban in ALL public places and in homes where there are children. Policing a complete ban would be well nigh impossible I should think.

Re: Complete Ban on Smoking for young people?

Here we go again, the banning brigade are running out of idea's fast, the scull and crossbones on packets of cigarettes was a huge flop, hiding packets behind cabinet doors was laughable, charging the Earth for a packet was no barrier, and now this, making criminals out of kids before they reach adulthood. The more bans and laws you bring in the more criminals you make. Some young people have seen their best friends die from using hard drugs, that did not deter some of them from carrying on themselves, bans on peoples bad habits dont work, they will always find a way to get what they need, and the sooner this idea is confined to the waste paper basket the better. Cigarette smoking is a bad habit and it will eventually become "Uncool" as a member here said, and fade out accordingly, my guess is in about 50 years time, whatever happened to the snuff whiffers and the tobacco chewers?.
They would be better employed coming up with idea's to root out corrupt greedy politicians, boot them out and save the country billions, I was going to say millions, but the way they talk about money these days that's only chickenfeed.

Re: Complete Ban on Smoking for young people?

Whilst it is probably impossible to ban tobacco smoking completely as it has been legal for so long, making it an activity to be indulged in behind closed doors when no children are present seems the way to go.

Re: Complete Ban on Smoking for young people?

Yes, I agree that smoking is largely 'uncool' which is helping reduce smoking among young people.

Remember it is already illegal to sell cigarettes to people younger than 18 so really all we are talking about is raising the age limit incrementally. If something is hard to get most people won't bother and those that will bother you probably can't stop anyway.

Personally I think the war on drugs is a total failure and penalising the addicts doesn't work BUT if necessary prosecuting the shop that does sell cigarettes to under age people (as happens now) is perhaps the way to go to get smoking down to perhaps 5%(2%?). (current cocaine use = 1.4 to 2%)

I quite like the idea that smoking will die out with the present generation of smokers and raising the age at which you can legally buy cigarettes each year has an appeal. Like all addictions you can never stop it completely but there is really no advantage to smoking because you don't get a 'high' when you first try it so I don't think the same applies as it does to narcotics. The secret with smoking is ensuring young people don't start so getting cigarette use down to the same level as illicit drugs would be a big start.

BTW I totally disagree with the statement that advertising bans, hiding cigarettes in cabinets, plain packaging and smoking bans have failed. They have all contributed to the idea that there is something furtive or uncool about smoking and the proof is in the figures with smokers now down to 18% of the population. The sad figure now is that women smoke more than men.