The Goverment has decided to raise the age of smoking to 18, instead of 16. Perhaps not the most ingenious move to make, as they only banned smoking in public places three months ago; I feel inclined to bust out into song, "I predict a riot!"
Although the ban is trying to prevent bad health, many shops and teenagers are in uproar about the new law. (Many of them didn't know about the new law until today, even though it's been talked about since 2005. Shocking.)
Of course, many of us know that smoking is popular with the younger teens, so what good will the ban do?
Well, for one thing, young teenagers will be easier to spot when trying to buy cigarettes, and even disguising their age will not work, as their immature attitudes will give them away. It might even get rid of teenage gangs hanging around on the streets near a corner shop; wouldn't that be an achievement?
There is also the possilbilty that this new smoking ban will save some lives in years to come, as many adult smokers of today had started their habit as a teenager.
However, there is always a downside to a new law (ever since 1653 perhaps?). What about all the sixteen year old smokers who have been allowed to buy cigarettes from their local shop? The ban hasn't really been fair to the people who have (it's possible) started smoking when they were sixteen.
Could the goverment have perhaps found a way around this new ban? I think they should take action against teenage smokers who are caught smoking or who are buying cigarettes llegally. They stop underage drinkers, so why not underage smokers? I also think a punishment for parents or other adults caught buying underage teenagers cigarettes should be put in place as well; they are breaking the law after all. Perhaps they should try hiring teenagers to crack down on shops selling cigarettes to underage teens (they might be hard to find though!) .
At the end of the day, sixteen year olds should be given the choice to smoke, as they can choose who to have sex with legally at the same age. I've actually heard that they're thinking of moving the age of consent down to 14; go figure?
As long as I don't see this on our England streets, I'm not too fussed about the smoking ban on under eighteens.
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3 comments:
I really don't think upping the age limit is gonna work that much. But if they insist on doing this, they must clamp down on parents/friends buying them for them!
Valid points about the booze... they clamp down on that (certainly in Sidmouth!) so underage smoking should be targetted.
And the age of consent to 14 is shocking. Education at 14 is preferable, but I'm not overly convinced of the ability of a 14 year old to think sensibly when it comes to sex (I look mainly at my siblings here...!).
xx
Good post - I really like the way you've used links to a range of relevant material and incorporated those links smoothly into your writing. You understand how to lay out your posts to make them easier to read on screen, which is good. You write well too, though you should still proof read carefully - one of your sentences go a bit awry via repetition.
I like the way you've added sidebar content - you'll need to do that for the assessment blog. You should also think about ways to add visuals to your assessment blog.
The other reviews are good - I like the review of I Am Fashion but you should really have added links to the posts/reviews you were talking about.
Overall, a good start.
it's been 18 here in the states forever, 21 for drinking (except in canada), and age of consent varies state to state. but i tell you, it doesn't matter what age they chose, kids will still try everything out.
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