May 29 2008
Healthy move to restrict cigarette smoking
Scotland, May 29: In what could be considered as a healthy move the health secretary of the UK, Alan Johnson, encouraged the move to ban the open display of cigarettes in Scottish shops. He opined that we should not encourage children to take up smoking habit right from the tender age.
Last week the minister put forth plans to control the tobacco sale as an initiative to minimise the smoking habit. Smoking is considered as Scotland’s biggest killer. Other proposals on the anvil include tobacco licensing and promoting plain packaging for cigarettes. The minister also said that the UK government is also considering similar moves.
He further added that, “Banning vending machines is to be considered as it has no control over age of the person who is buying cigarette. Age detection remains as an issue in several other European countries. The children can buy any number of cigarettes as there is no restriction to stop their smoking habit.”
But in the past two years Scotland has turned out as a role model to the UK through its initiatives to ban smoking in enclosed public places and within six months the minimum age for buying cigarette was raised to 18.
The anti-smoking group named Ash welcomed health secretary’s move while the pro-smoking organisation Forest has expressed their disappointment over the minister’s decision.
According to a health estimate 13,000 deaths, 33,500 hospital admissions and an added expense of £200m to the health service incurred due to increasing rate of smoking habit in Scotland.
