Charity calls for cigarette machine ban

Nov 12 2007 by Madeleine Brindley, Western Mail

UP TO one in six child smokers in Wales are buying their cigarettes from vending machines, a charity said yesterday.

Despite the recent increase in the legal age limit for buying tobacco, school children still have easy access to cigarettes without having to prove their age, the British Heart Foundation said.

The charity is now calling on the UK government to ban the sale of tobacco from such machines and close a loop-hole which is feeding children’s habits.

It believes legislation is needed to tackle consistently high smoking rates among children – 9% of children aged 11 to 15 are regular smokers.

The BHF has calculated that more than 46,000 11 to 15-year-olds in England and Wales buy cigarettes from vending machines, including more than 2,600 in Wales.

Dr Mike Knapton, director of prevention and care at the BHF said, “People who begin smoking at a young age are more likely to suffer tobacco-related death and illness, and succumb to tobacco-related diseases earlier.

“It is vital that we do all we can stop our children from starting smoking in the first place.”

Smoking-related illnesses are responsible for the deaths of around 114,000 people in the UK every year and it is believed that 82% of adult smokers started as teenagers.

The BHF has called on MPs to secure a Private Member’s Bill in Westminster on Thursday to introduce a ban on tobacco vending machines. This would cover Wales as well as England.

Delyth Lloyd, public affairs manager for the BHF in Wales, said, “Some very welcome and very important steps have been taken in the last year to reduce smoking rates, including a ban on smoking in public places and an increase in the age at which people can buy cigarettes from 16 to 18.

“But much more can and should be done to discourage children from taking up smoking. Banning tobacco vending machines is an obvious next step – it’s a loophole that our children are currently taking advantage of.”