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Call for cigarette machine ban

12/11/2007

Vending machines that sell cigarettes should be banned in order to prevent children from using them, a charity has claimed.

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) says that one in six young smokers in England and Wales (about 46,000) use vending machines to buy their cigarettes.

And the charity believes this figure would be higher if statistics included 16- and 17-year-olds banned from buying cigarettes under new legislation.

The BHF says that with nine per cent of children aged between 11 and 15 regarding themselves as regular smokers, and four out of five smokers admitting they started as teenagers, it is "vital" that vending machines are outlawed.

"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," said BHF director of prevention and care Dr Mike Knapton.

Responding to the call, Cancer Research UK said it fully supported the move to ban cigarette vending machines.

"We would also like to see further measures introduced to reduce the number of young people who smoke, including price increases and the provision of targeted stop smoking services and support," said senior tobacco control manager Elspeth Lee.

"The issue must remain a government priority if we are to prevent today's teenagers becoming tomorrow's adult smokers and greatly increasing their risk of developing cancer in later life."

Almost 115,000 people are said to die in the UK annually from smoking-related illnesses.