British smoking age to rise to 18

LONDON - The minimum age for buying tobacco in Britain is to be raised from 16 to 18 in an effort to cut the number of teenage smokers.

The measure to place cigarettes on the same legal footing as alcohol will affect hundreds of thousands of smokers: up to 60 per cent of 16-year-olds are estimated to have tried cigarettes.

The measure will bring the UK in line with most US states and other EU countries. Spain is the latest to raise the age to 18.

Pressure to bring Britain into line has increased in the light of a recent US study showing that teenage smoking permanently increases the risks of lung cancer. Around a quarter of 16- and 17-year-olds are thought to smoke, making the age group an attractive target for the tobacco industry that earns an estimated 35 million pounds ($85 million) a year profit from teenage smokers in Britain.

A recent survey suggested that 80 per cent of the public would back the move, with particular support coming from 18- to 24-year-olds.

- INDEPENDENT