Increasing the smoking age to 21 could actually make the habit 'fashionable again', a smokers' rights group has claimed. The Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill, which has been introduced in the Dáil, which would raise the legal age limit for buying tobacco products from 18 to 21. If passed the laws would come into place in February 2028 - with the delay meaning it will not impact people who are already over 18 but under 21-years-old.
Forest Director Simon Clark told The Pat Kenny Show the move doesn't take adulthood into account. "I feel it is a bit of a political gimmick," he said. "We're having the same issue in the UK where the government wants to go even further and introduce a generational ban: where you'd be raising the age of sale by one year every year.
"Some would say that raising it from 18 to 21 is a reasonable compromise. "But I would still argue that when you are 18 you are legally an adult and you should be treated like one". Mr Clark said curtailing certain freedoms for over-18s is the wrong approach.
"At 18 you can drive a car, you can join the Army, you can possess a credit card, you can purchase alcohol and of course you can vote," he said. "If you can do all those things at the age of 18 we believe you should also be allowed to purcahse cigarettes and other tobacco products". Mr Clark said the crackdown should be on sellers not the general public.
"An important issue here is that one of the reasons this is being introduced is because people are sayi.
