Young people and tobacco
Overview
Most people start smoking and become addicted to nicotine when they are still children. Those who start smoking at the youngest ages are more likely to smoke heavily and find it harder to give up. These smokers are at the greatest risk of developing smoking related diseases.
Young smokers can show signs of addiction to tobacco after a very short period of time.
Yet despite these dangers, tobacco is very easily obtained by young people. In England about 4 in 10 smokers under the age of 18 buy cigarettes from shops. They typically report no difficulty in doing so, despite the fact that retailers who sell tobacco to minors are breaking the law.
Article 16 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control requires nations that have ratified the treaty to ban the sale of tobacco to young people under 18. Governments are also required to take other measures such as: preventing tobacco products from being easily accessible, prohibiting the sales of single cigarettes and small packs, and banning free distribution of tobacco products. Some countries have also banned the manufacture and sale of sweet and toy cigarettes.
ASH documents
ASH webpage on youth smoking
Fact Sheet 03: Young People and Smoking (pdf file)
ASH submission to the Dept. of Health’s consultation on the future of tobacco control (pdf file) (this focused on reducing smoking among children)
ASH submission to Under-age sales consultation (pdf file)
Current Key Texts
A Smokefree Future. A comprehensive tobacco control strategy for England. (2010) HM Government
NICE (2010) School-based interventions to prevent the uptake of smoking among children. London: NICE
NICE (2007) Preventing the uptake of smoking by children. London: NICE
British Medical Association (2007) Breaking the cycle of children’s exposure to tobacco smoke. London: BMA Board of Science.
Stead LF and Lancaster T (2005) Interventions for preventing tobacco sales to minors. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2005, Issue 1. Art. No.: CD001497. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD001497.pub2
Other Seminal Texts
Stead LF and Lancaster T (2000) A systematic review of interventions for preventing tobacco sales to minors. Tobacco Control 9:169-176
Further information
Throughout Great Britain, it has been illegal to sell tobacco to people aged under 18 since October 2007. Previously the minimum age was 16. In Northern Ireland, a similar change is under consultation. The consultation on the law is England is available on the Department of Health website.
Youth access laws on tobacco will not reduce youth smoking prevalence on their own. The biggest effects on youth smoking result from policies such as high tobacco prices, smokefree laws and bans on tobacco advertising.
The Department of Health undertakes annual surveys about young people’s smoking behaviour. This includes detailed information about England’s youth smoking rates and where young people obtain cigarettes.
