Jump to full article: BBC Online, 2008-07-06
Author: Nick Triggle Health reporter, BBC News, Edinburgh
Intro: Doctors have called for a range of measures to rid the UK of smoking in a report launched at the British Medical Association conference in Edinburgh.
The BMA said it wanted to see tough restrictions on the sale of tobacco and new rules to limit the impact of films.
The report said such measures, with a particular emphasis on targeting young people, would make ensuring the UK was tobacco-free by 2035 a realistic aim.
Slightly more than a fifth of adults smoke - half the level of the 1970s.
The report said the young were particularly susceptible. It pointed out smoking habits developed in the teenage years were often carried into adulthood.
In particular, the report called for all films and TV programmes which portray positive images of smoking to be preceded by an anti-smoking advert, and for film censors to take into account pro-smoking content when classifying films. . . .
The BMA said a no-nonsense approach was needed - banning displays, insisting on plain packaging and setting minimum price levels.
Meanwhile, retailers should be regulated through a licensing scheme, it added.
Jump to full article » |