Alun Williams, chairperson of the Guernsey Adolescent Smoke-free Project, said the last survey of the island's 15-year-old boys in 2002 showed a marked decrease in smoking.
Before the 1997 ban, 35 per cent of the boys surveyed smoked, but this has now fallen to 17 per cent. A similar decline has also been seen among 15-year-old girls.
"It has certainly not been our experience that the ban makes smoking more attractive as a forbidden fruit," said Williams. "Young people are discerning as consumers. Smoking just becomes a pain if you run the gauntlet of being embarrassed in front of your mates if you are accused of being underage."
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