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Lib Dems stub out bid to lift smoking age"CALLS to increase the minimum age for buying cigarettes to 18 have been rejected as "illiberal" by Scottish Liberal Democrats.
The party's autumn conference in Dunfermline at the weekend narrowly defeated a motion proposing the change after speakers pointed out Lib Dems favoured votes for 16-year-olds.
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Craig Harrow, the candidate for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber at next year's Holyrood elections, argued that raising the age limit would cut the number of young people who started smoking. "Over 80 per cent of smokers start before they are 18," he told the conference.
But Helen Watt from East Dunbartonshire said: "At 16 young men and young women can join our armed forces, so we are treating them as adults.
"It's OK for those 16-year-olds to protect us, to go to war, to fight and perhaps be killed for their country. But what this is saying is it's not all right for them to be able to buy a packet of cigarettes."
The SNP, which also backs votes at 16, voted in favour of raising the smoking age to 18 at its conference last week."
This is my favourite bit -
"CALLS to increase the minimum age for buying cigarettes to 18 have been rejected as "illiberal" by Scottish Liberal Democrats"
so raising the smoking age is "illiberal" but banning smoking in public places isn't? and refusing to back a referendum for that matter.
I vote to ban the Lib Dems, the new official loony party.
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S Glenn
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The differentiation is that the ban on smoking in public places affected others including employees of such locations who were subjected to health benefits of passive smoking. The right to chose to buy cigarettes is an individuals freedom.
As elsewhere on the day 16 years olds were being treated as adults in other policies if this motion had been passed it would have been hypocritical as we are striving to make 16 the common age of adulthood.
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Aventinian
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I've mentioned my opinions before on 16 year olds and increasing their rights, particularly in terms of alcohol purchase.
I don't support the smoking ban either incidently.
I am increasingly sick of the nanny state and its suggestions. And I don't think that the Liberals are any friend of liberty.
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Avatar
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"The differentiation is that the ban on smoking in public places affected others including employees of such locations who were subjected to health benefits of passive smoking. The right to chose to buy cigarettes is an individuals freedom.
As elsewhere on the day 16 years olds were being treated as adults in other policies if this motion had been passed it would have been hypocritical as we are striving to make 16 the common age of adulthood."
Well I suppose in that context your stance makes sense, I wont get into the whole are 16 year olds adults debate, but I think its a mistake not to raise the legal age of buying cigarrettes.
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agentmancuso
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Re: Lib Dems stub out bid to lift smoking age | Avatar wrote: |
"CALLS to increase the minimum age for buying cigarettes to 18 have been rejected as "illiberal" by Scottish Liberal Democrats"
so raising the smoking age is "illiberal" but banning smoking in public places isn't?
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Yes. Smoking in public places damages the health of other people.
Smoking in a private place aged 17 might be a stupid thing to do, but if you are legally an adult then the government can have only a very limited right to interfere with your behaviour, insofar as you are only harming yourself.
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