The Tasmanian Government is considering ruling out banning tobacco sales to people born after 2000, in the wake of a vote in the state’s Upper House last night.
Legislative Council member Ivan Dean wants to make it illegal for people born after 2000 to buy tobacco once they turn 18 – meaning they would never legally be able to buy cigarettes.
The proposal was passed unanimously by the Upper House on Tuesday night.
The move comes a week after the tobacco industry …
• SMH: Bid to ban cigarettes for anyone born after 2000:
An international campaign to ban the sale of cigarettes to young people has been given a leg up in Australia.
The 2000 Smoke Free Generation initiative has secured the backing of Tasmania’s independent upper house, the Legislative Council, and will be scrutinised by the state government.
The Legislative Council is calling for a ban on cigarette sales to anyone born after the year 2000.
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The initiative, brought to Australia by a University of Singapore academic, means that, from the year 2018, young people who would have then come of legal age, no longer could smoke.
“I first thought it was just going too far, and was too difficult to sell,” the Tasmanian proponent, independent MP Ivan Dean, told Fairfax Media.
“But handled properly, the Smoke Free Generation could work. It’s not the case that it would be immediate,” Mr Dean said. “There’s a lead time to this.”
Mr Dean said its success would depend on getting young people on side, as well as tobacco producers and retailers.
One in four young Tasmanians smokes, compared with one in five nationally, and Health Minister Michelle O’Byrne today confirmed her support.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/bid-to-ban-cigarettes-for-anyone-born-after-2000-20120822-24liy.html#ixzz24Gp4QiUe
