Scottish Lib Dems oppose escalating age limit on purchasing tobacco

Scottish liberal Democrat members did support a measure to introduce further restrictions on outdoor smoking rules. They also carried a motion for the UK Government to introduce a levy on tobacco company profits to help fund healthcare and prevent smoking. 

The members’ decisions come as after ministers agreed that from 2027, the age of sale for tobacco will raise by one year every year. This means that those who are born on or after the 1st of January 2009 will never catch up with the legal age to buy tobacco across Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The law will make it illegal to sell tobacco to anyone who falls under the age of sale. In Scotland at the moment, the minimum age to buy tobacco is 18. 

One speaker during the debate at the Salutation Hotel today was GP Drummond Begg from the Scottish Borders who spoke against an escalating age, saying he doesn’t “discriminate between worthy and unworthy health issues” and we should not “tobacco shame”.

Someone in favour of an outright ban on smoking at the conference was 13 year-old Noah McGarry who raised the issue that many people his age are targeted by smoking and vaping products.

Single-use disposable vapes will be banned in England and Wales from June 2025, however, Scotland has pushed they day it will ban vapes. The Scottish Parliament had already passed regulations bringing the ban into force on April 1.

The school boy said: “Should the government ban smoking? I think they should. The reality is that smoking is a problem and this includes vaping. I think a quarter of the older kids in my school vape. 

“Vape companies also seem to target younger people like me. They advertise on social media and that is not cool. ” 

He compared the ban to a takeaway option he likes to have, saying: “I don’t the government should ban the bad boy donner because me choosing the bad boy donner doesn’t hurt others. The same is not true for smoking unfortunately. Passive smoking is harmful. When things are bad for others we should act.”

Mr Cole-Hamilton named the debate around public smoking “a meaty liberal discussion”, as he said he did not support an outright ban on smoking outside and said the rolling age band is “crackers”. 

He added: “You could end up in a few decades’ time with a 75 year-old and 74 year-old couple, the wives allowed to go and buy fags but the husband isn’t. You shouldn’t have two tiers of rights.” 

“I believe in bodily autonomy. If you want to harm your body that’s on you.” 

Adam Harley accepted smoking was a “deeply damaging addiction”, however added: “The UK Government has proposed a rolling age limit to ban tobacco sales  to anyone born after the year 2009.

“By taking away the right of an adult to chose whether or not to smoke, we move away form public health consideration and enter into the realm of individual liberty and bodily autonomy. That would be a mistake.

“We would eventually  find ourselves in the ludicrous situation where a 61 year old would be refused tobacco, while a 62 year old could smoke quite freely.

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Liberal Democrat member Jenny Marr reflected on her experience, saying: “I haven’t had a cigarette since November 24 2019.

“The fact that it was my last cigarette was my choice, my first cigarette was my choice.

“We believe people should be able to make those choices just as I did.

“To legislate, to dictate to people in this way feels like a slippery slope to state intervention, which I just can not condone.

“We have to look at the source of the problem, why do people start smoking, there is a societal issue we have to tackle here and banning si simply a sticking plaster.

“In my opinion it’s the easy option, it’s not necessarily the right option.” 

A former chief executive of NHS Tayside, Tim Brett also opposed the ban. 

Mr Brett said: “We as a party helped introduce a ban on smoking in public places and my concern here is this goes against what we have stood for in the part.

“Yes, we should be aiming for a smoke free country and I recognise that progress is being made, but I am very anxious  that if we pass this motion we will portrayed as being in support of smoking.

“I don’t want that.”