NO - RACHAEL HARRINGTON, 16, participant in HeadsUp, online debating space for young people run by the Hansard Society
Raising the legal age for smoking to 18 will have very little effect on the actual number of teenagers who take up smoking. The amount of under-16s who currently smoke proves that the law against smoking does not prevent underage smoking, and why would it?
The law does not prohibit smoking; it prohibits buying cigarettes from reputable shops. There are many other ways to get hold of cigarettes.
If teenagers or children who are obviously underage are smoking, no-one will challenge them. Police cannot penalise them and most schools turn a blind eye to smoking.
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