Press Release
8th September 2005

Channel Island Experts to Make Case for Smoking Age Rise

10:30 am, Thursday 15th September 2005
Scottish Parliament, Committee Room 4

A panel comprising:

will answer questions from the media on whether there is a case for raising the minimum legal age for purchasing tobacco products in Scotland from 16 to 18.

The Expert Group examining whether Scotland should raise the legal minimum age for purchasing tobacco from 16 to 18 is to hear from representatives of the Guernsey Adolescent Smoke-free Project (GASP) about the impact the move has had on their island since its introduction in 1996.

Scottish Ministers were given the power to raise the minimum age by an amendment to the Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Act 2005, introduced by MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde and Health Committee member, Duncan McNeil.  The issue is now being examined by a group of experts, led by Dr Laurence Gruer OBE of NHS Health Scotland, which will duly advise Ministers.

GASP officials were invited to Holyrood by Mr McNeil, who says the Expert Group can learn valuable lessons from the experience on Guernsey, where raising the minimum age has seen the number of young smokers halved.

They will also meet with Health Committee members; members of the Cross-Party Group on Tobacco Control; Scottish Secretary of the BMA, Dr Bill O'Neill; and the health spokespersons from the various political parties with a view to building a non-partisan consensus on the matter.

Looking forward to the visit, Mr McNeil said:

“How can we have a situation where it will be illegal for a pensioner to smoke in his local pub, but it remains perfectly legal for his 16-year-old granddaughter to have a cigarette while waiting for the school bus?

“I know there is a strong case for raising the minimum age to 18, but not everyone is convinced.  I am therefore delighted that a representative from GASP is taking the time to visit the Scottish Parliament, share Guernsey’s experiences and hopefully explode some of the myths.

“Rather than picking their way through claim and counter-claim, thanks to the officials from GASP, the Expert Group will now be armed with the cold, hard facts when they come to advise the Minister.

“Finally, I am pleased that our guests from Guernsey have also agreed to meet with MSPs from across the political spectrum.  This will, I hope, help us forge a real cross-party consensus on this most important issue.”

Alun Williams, chairperson of GASP, is looking forward to highlighting the achievements of Guernsey’s pioneering strategy.  He said:

“There has been much global interest in Guernsey’s approach to tobacco reduction, in particular our work in reducing smoking amongst young people.  We look forward to explaining how we have achieved that reduction.  We will particularly emphasise how all sectors of the island community have played their part in helping us get our message across.”
ENDS

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