Calls to raise smoking age to at least 21

RAISING the legal age of smoking to 21 or high would dramatically slash the numbers of teenagers taking up the habit, researchers said.

British teenagers could buy cigarettes and tobacco when aged 16 but this was increased to 18 in 2007.

Now Canadian scientists have said raising it to 21 would see a quarter less smokers and have urged lawmakers to change the rules.

Researchers say nearly a fifth – 18 per cent– of young people aged 11 to 18 had tried smoking but those experimenting increases with age. Only three per cent of 11-yearolds tried smoking, but over a third – 36 per cent – of those aged 17 to 18 had.

Assistant Professor Dr John Oyston, at the University of Toronto and Scarborough Rouge Hospital, said: “Now that we know the addictive substance nicotine is a neurotoxin that damages the developing brain, a new measure is needed to protect young people from tobacco.”