'De-glamorise' smoking, say doctors

Tougher controls are needed to "de-glamorise and de-normalise" smoking among young people, doctors' leaders said.

Laws should be introduced to make it compulsory for anti-smoking adverts to be shown before films or TV programmes featuring people lighting up, they said. Film censors should also take into account whether a film portrays smoking when classifying it.

In a new report, experts from the British Medical Association (BMA) argued for tighter regulations to make smoking less attractive to young people.

Most smokers start before the age of 18 and almost all do so by the time they are 25, they said. Evidence suggests young people are influenced by images of people smoking in films, TV shows and magazines.

The BMA is calling for UK legislation to introduce anti-smoking adverts before any film or TV programme portraying "positive images" of smoking.

It also wants action to educate people in the entertainment industry about the potential damage done by portrayals of smoking and retailers to be required to carry a licence to sell cigarettes, in the same way they need a licence to sell alcohol.

The group advocates the introduction of a "minimum price" for cigarettes and other products to stop tobacco firms attracting young people to cheaper brands, along with plain packaging, showing only the brand, health warning and any other mandatory information for the consumer.

It also seeks a ban on sales from vending machines and cigarettes to be removed from display in shops as well as Government action to develop a comprehensive strategy with the aim of making the UK "tobacco-free" by 2035.

It says corporate social responsibility in the tobacco industry is a form of marketing and should be banned, and that tobacco companies should be prevented from introducing new products, including those which say they offer "reduced harm" from smoking.

Dr Vivienne Nathanson, head of science and ethics at the BMA, said: "Young people are surrounded by positive images of tobacco - from smoking by parents and peers to celebrities and role models they see in the media. They are also exposed to robust tobacco industry marketing. All this serves to reinforce the habit as being 'forever cool'. Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable ill health and death in the UK and children will only be truly protected from it when the UK is tobacco free."