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Shocking teenage smoking figures

UNDERAGE teenagers are smoking up to 200 Cigarettes a week, shocking new research has revealed. A study by anti-smoking charity ASH Wales found that many are buying smuggled tobacco or are being sold individual Cigarettes by shopkeepers who are breaking the law. It has been illegal to sell single Cigarettes in the UK since 1991. The teen smokers, whose average age is just 14, also find it easy to buy Cigarettes in their local corner shops and in supermarkets, despite the age limit on tobacco being raised from 16 to 18. ASH Wales today called on the Assembly Government to take a lead and consider licensing retailers to sell tobacco in the same way they are licensed to sell alcohol, which also has an 18 age limit. The shocking research findings come as the Department of Health is consulting on radical proposals to limit the availability of tobacco – these would apply in Wales, England and Northern Ireland. This includes banning cigarette vending machines and branding on tobacco packaging. The Scottish Government has also announced a range of proposals to restrict tobacco sales, including a ban in shops from displaying Cigarettes in “pride of place” on their shelves. Daniel Clayton, youth tobacco prevention specialist at ASH Wales, said: “The fact that children can access tobacco so easily is a serious health concern. “We know that the earlier children become addicted to tobacco the More likely they are to die a slow and painful death in middle age – taking around 15 years from their life expectancy. “What is striking about this survey is the ease in which young people can feed their deadly habit. For instance, one in five children can buy Cigarettes from vending machines, More than eight out of 10 are buying Cigarettes from their peers in school and More than one in 10 can buy tobacco from ice cream vans, burger vans and private dwellings. “Most concerning of all is that children are consuming on average 45 Cigarettes per week and in some cases up to 200 Cigarettes per week. This level of spending on Cigarettes is certain to cause long-term damage to both the child’s health and their bank balance.” The survey, of More than 100 underage smokers in the South Wales valleys and Cardiff, also revealed that 13% may be buying illicit or smuggled Cigarettes. The latest figures, from 2006, suggest that 23% of 15-year-old girls and 12% of boys smoke regularly. Mr Clayton said this would suggest that children are accessing tobacco from criminal sources. “We do not want Welsh children involved in such activity even if they are ignorant to the problem and issues that surround it,” he said. “The sale of single Cigarettes in the UK was outlawed in 1991, because of their appeal to young people, but 7% of those surveyed claim to have purchased single sticks in either shops or mobile burger and ice cream vans, while up to 80% have access to single Cigarettes from friends and family. This is scandalous and we need to do all we can at national and local level to stamp this problem out.” The ASH Wales survey follows a report by the Welsh Heads of Trading Standards in Wales – The Report on Underage Sales of Tobacco in Wales 2007-08 – which found that children were able to buy Cigarettes in up to a quarter of shops and supermarkets tested. Professor Mike Harmer, Wales’ deputy chief medical officer, said: “I am concerned by the ASH Wales findings. We are working hard to discourage children from taking up the habit as well as helping those who have already started smoking. “The Welsh Assembly Government is supportive of measures which reduce the marketing and sale of Cigarettes to children. “The smoke-free legislation introduced by the Assembly Government in April 2007 establishes non-smoking as the norm and should discourage young people from starting smoking.”