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By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Plan to raise the smoking age year by year is brilliant

Nov 23, 2023 | 5:55 AM

WHAT IF we could ban all sales of tobacco? Think what it would do for the health of our country.

Impossible, you say? Well, the UK is moving in exactly that direction. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak revealed a plan a few weeks ago to do it, and now even King Charles says it could result in a “smoke-free generation.”

Here’s how it works. The government will raise the smoking age by one year every year. The result will be that a kid who’s 14 today will never legally be able to purchase a cigarette.

The current legal age for buying tobacco products in the UK is 18, up from 16 in 2007. It’s the same in Canada — 18, although some provinces including B.C. have gone one better with an age-19 threshold.

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Gradually raising the minimum age is brilliant, really. It wouldn’t affect current legal nicotine addicts but, over time, as the smokers die out, ciggies would become a thing of the past.

Sure, there will be skeptics who insist a black market would spring up, along with bootlegging, and maybe that’s a reason to outlaw the smoking itself as well as the selling.

Which would, of course, bring a whole new set of challenges.

And what about vaping? Certainly, vaping should be included.

Some will also point out that, while smoking is under fire, so to speak, the rules on illicit drugs are being relaxed. But let’s not get too hung up on the tobacco-and-alcohol vs. illicit drugs issue.

Tobacco takes a huge toll on lives and on our healthcare system. If there’s a way to eradicate it or, at least, reduce it to insignificance, it should be taken seriously. A number of other countries are thinking along the same lines as the UK.

Canada has done much to discourage smoking, including putting warning labels on packaging and now on the cigarettes themselves. Time to look at the next step.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.