In future, the Irish government will only allow smoking from the age of 21. “It has been proven that the risk of becoming a smoker is particularly high between the ages of 18 and 21,” Health Minister Stephen Donnelly argued on Tuesday.
That is why the legal minimum age for purchasing tobacco products is increased to 21 years. As in most other EU countries, the lower age limit is currently 18 years. According to the bill, people between 18 and 21 years old are still exempt from the new scheme. There is another exception for e-cigarettes, for which the minimum age (18 years) remains unaffected.
The number of smokers in Ireland is expected to fall, according to the Health Minister. US experience shows that the higher minimum age limits “the social sources of cigarettes” for young people. “They are less likely to be in groups with people who can legally buy cigarettes.”
One in five smokes
According to the Department of Health, almost one in five people over the age of 18 smoke in Ireland. The country was the first EU member state to introduce a ban on indoor smoking (2004).
The Latvian government has passed a law that will increase the minimum age to 20 years by 2025. Tightened measures are also being discussed in Great Britain. In the US, the limit for purchasing tobacco and alcohol is 21 years.
Source: Krone
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