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yfmain 5/6/2007 21:29

英国合法买烟年龄提至18岁

<DIV class=M2FullAHeadline>LEGAL AGE TO BUY CIGS GOES UP TO 18</DIV>
<DIV class=M2FullAByline>By Magnus Gardham</DIV>
UNDER-18s will be banned from buying cigarettes in a tough new crackdown.
The move - to be announced today - will be part of a package of measures to tackle Scotland's shockingly high rates of teenage smoking.
The strict ban will be enforced from October by trading standards officers.
Shops which sell cigs to kids will face stiff fines, with repeat offenders banned from selling tobacco altogether.
The move follows Scotland's historic smoking ban in pubs, offices and other public places 15 months ago.
Last night it was welcomed by health campaigners.

Maureen Moore, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health Scotland, said: "There is solid evidence that when properly implemented, age restriction laws can lead to a significant decline in the numbers of retailers selling cigarettes to those underage.

"Effective enforcement of the law, backed by tobacco licensing, is vital."

Dr Laurence Gruer, director of public health science at Health Scotland, added: "The current age of 16 was fixed in 1937 when smoking wasn't thought of as dangerous.

"Now we know how addictive and damaging to health smoking is, this change should help reinforce the message that cigarettes are best avoided altogether.

"Raising the age in itself is not enough - tougher enforcement is also needed."

However, shopkeepers said yesterday they could face violence if they refuse to sell cigarettes to nicotine-addicted teenagers.

And they called for young people to be given a free national proof-of-age card.

John Drummond, chief executive of the Scottish Grocers Federation, said: "It is shop workers not the police or politicians who will be expected to enforce the law.

"Already retailers and shop workers face intimidation, violence and abuse when challenging some youngsters to prove their age."

A spokesman for the National Federation of Retail Newsagents added: "Assaults on small retailers are at a high level. Overall, we support the changes but we need a 'no ID, no sale' principle."

The crackdown is the brainchild of Labour's former health minister Andy Kerr.

His plans won widespread support and will be announced by the SNP public health minister Shona Robison during a visit to a Dundee school today.

Currently, shops face a maximum ￡2500 penalty for selling tobacco to underage kids - but only a handful of retailers are fined each year. Many pay as little as ￡200.

An Executive report last year found a quarter of 15-year-old Scots girls smoked - one of the highest rates in Europe.

The report also found 14 per cent of 15-year-old boys smoked.
 
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Warren 6/6/2007 15:09

真不知道为什么要吸烟。:80000

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