Smoking & age

[juliet]

I've seen some (although not that much, excluding the obligatory newspaper articles) discussion online about the smoking ban, but nothing about the fact that the age for buying fags is to be raised to 18 as of October.

I'm broadly in favour of this (it won't actually stop 16/17yos buying fags, I imagine, but it might stop 14yos doing so. Although it may just increase the numbers of kids pestering people to buy fags for them). But it throws up, again, the discrepancy in age legislation. 16 is old enough to get married & have kids, but not old enough to vote, drive a car, buy alcohol or cigarettes. 17 is old enough to join the army but still not to vote or smoke/drink.

Bringing all of it down to 16 would seem a bit of a retrograde step. Taking everything up to 18 is impractical (well, not in the army or driving cases, but definitely in the sex/babies case). I don't think there is a solution, but it still seems *untidy*.

I am so far very much liking the smoking ban. Was v pleased on Sunday lunchtime to see a sand bucket outside the greasy spoon for fag-ends, & *not* to have to eat my chipses (yes, I know, bad for me as well) through other people's smoke.

Comments

[karen2205]

It'd make sense if they separated the age limit for marriage from that for consenting to sex. Deciding to have sex requires less maturity than deciding to get married. Both have consequences, but generally the consequences of sex will be less serious than those of marriage. Of course, I can't actually see this happening due to questionable numbers of people holding the moral position that sex before marriage is wrong.

If you do that you get:
16 - consent to sex, able to leave school/get full time job
17 - drive car/join army (could be moved to 18)
18 - marry, vote, serve in army in war zone, buy alcohol & cigarettes, sit on jury etc.

I think keeping driving and buying alcohol at different ages is good, as it means you get to do one first & there's less temptation to mix the two.

I'd like to see voting brought down to 16, as if you're able to leave school and get a full time job you ought to be eligible to vote for the government you want.

[thekumquat.livejournal.com]

You need parental permission to get married at 16 or 17 though, certainly in England and Wales.

Given how few kids can afford to pass a driving test at 17, I think in practice most teenagers drink (bearing in mind it's legal at 16 with a meal) long before they can drive.