Teenagers could be fined if they smoke

SHOPKEEPERS want to turn children into criminals by making it illegal for minors to light up.
Under a plan proposed by the Australasian Association of Convenience Stores, which represents corner stores and petrol stations, children under 18 would be fined or given a court notice for smoking, The Daily Telegraph reports.
Association executive director Sheryle Moon said teenage smoking should be treated the same as underage drinking, adding: "Just as police officers enforce alcohol now, they would have the power to enforce underage smoking."
Frustrated that retailers carry the burden of underage smoking and face fines of $5500 if they sell to a minor, shopkeepers want parents and children to bear the responsibility.But their proposal, which will be presented to State and Federal Governments this week, has been slammed by anti-smoking groups, who said it would criminalise children.
About 10 per cent of children aged between 12 and 17 smoke - that number doubles after 17.
While the rate of underage smoking is declining, about 80 per cent of smokers started while children.
Under the NSW Tobacco Act, there is nothing to prevent a child from smoking - but an adult who purchases cigarettes for a minor can face a fine of $2200. Next year, under new legislation, shops will be forced to hide tobacco products from sight.
Ms Moon said traders face up to $20,000 in shop renovations to meet the laws, adding it was a "disproportionate level of responsibility".
The NSW Cancer Council yesterday dismissed the idea, claiming that education was more effective in reducing underage smoking.
Instead of the law criminalising teenagers who smoke, it recommended corner stores and petrol stations just stop selling cigarettes.
"The problem with making smoking illegal is that it turns people into criminals for a bad habit they developed through aggressive marketing by tobacco companies," the Cancer Council's tobacco unit manager Wendy Oakes said.