New Clause 2 - Age of sale
Health Bill
9:00 am
Andrew Murrison (Shadow Minister, Health; Westbury, Conservative)
Despite my cold I am bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, I hope—as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as I ever get. The amendments are well worthy of the Minister’s support, and I hope that she has given them some in-depth thought in the past few days. I am only sorry that I did not put them forward myself, although I was happy to add my name and those of my hon. Friends to the amendments tabled by the hon. Member for Barnsley, East and Mexborough (Jeff Ennis).
This is one of those situations in which one thinks, “Why on earth didn’t I think of that?” It seems blindingly obvious, in the context of trying to improve public health, that we should seek to increase to 18 the age at which one can purchase tobacco. That is eminently reasonable, particularly as it would be a simplifying measure. The age at which one can legally purchase alcohol is 18, and most people accept that 18 is a significant age—except, perhaps, the Liberal Democrats; I hope that they will speak to this set of amendments. It is the age at which one achieves majority and the age of competence for so many things: in our electoral system, for example, and with regard to the way in which people are approached at work. We have to have a defining age at some point in our chronology, or life span, and society accepts that that point is the age of 18.