Can you believe it?
Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada doesn't think making it illegal for kids to smoke is a good idea just because the tobacco companies think it is a good idea.
"Cynthia Callard, executive director of the anti-smoking advocacy group Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada, says the very fact that the [The Canadian Convenience Stores Association] CCSA [and tobacco companies] supports such a ban is evidence that it won’t work. "
(Doesn't that remind of you someone? Hmm, let's see
Jack Layton didn't support the budget just because the Conservatives created it.)
The article mentions a Statistics Canada survey that shows the percentage of youth aged 15 to 19 who smoke has leveled off at 15 per cent in recent years, after declining from 28 per cent in 1999.
"Callard says that there are limited resources available to keep kids from smoking, and those funds would be better spent on education, rather than trying to police the more than 150,000 underage smokers in Canada."
Sure, there has been a slight decline from education, but it's leveled off, so maybe it's time to consider something else.
It may cost money to enforce, but it will bring in revenue as well from the fines.
And if kids aren't smoking out in the open and they can't smoke in doors for obvious reasons from it's illegal to people won't let them to it's hard to hide the smell and the smoke, where are they going to smoke?
That's got to reduce the peer pressure factor if the kids that don't currently smoke aren't subjected to it everyday.
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