Raise Age to 21 to Purchase Tobacco Products..

January 8, 2008 - Scottish cancer specialist (Dr. Jayant Vaidya) is calling for the age at which people can buy tobacco be raised to 21. Dr Vaidya told the BBC Scotland news website: "Most people start smoking before they are 21, and after they are 21 they are wise enough to realise that it's not in their interest to use tobacco products." Dr Vaidya said that in Goa in India, where he was born, raising the smoking age to 21 has led to a considerable drop in the number of tobacco-related diseases. "Children, before they are proper grown-ups at 21, have the right to be protected from the onslaught of the tobacco industry," he said. As of October 1, 2007 the legal minimum age at which tobacco can be bought in England, Scotland and Wales went from 16 to 18. The BBC's Healthy Britain survey questioned more than one thousand people. More than half (55%) of those polled supported raising the legal age from 16 to 21. Why these baby steps when it comes to tobacco control why wasn't the age raised to 21?? - let's talk tobacco elimination when it comes to kids - our future leaders. It is estimated that at least 4.5 million U.S. adolescents are cigarette smokers and approximately 90 percent of smokers begin smoking before the age of 21. (" The Cigarette Smoking Tragedy" by Dr. Jenny Tylee, Ezine Articles) Click on image to enlarge..