<http://society.guardian.co.uk/drugsandalcohol/story/0,,1871985,00.html>
Young face tougher drink, smoking laws

Call for tighter under-25 drink-drive limit and tobacco ban for
under-18s

Alan Travis, home affairs editor
Thursday September 14, 2006
The Guardian

A much tougher drink-drive limit for young drivers and a higher legal
age at which cigarettes can be bought are needed to tackle the drugs
that do most harm to young people, the government's experts on drug
policy recommend today.

They want the drink-driving limit for drivers under 25 to be cut by
nearly 40% in an attempt to reduce accidents. They also say it is time
to raise the legal age for buying tobacco from 16 to 18 and ensure that
the underage drinking and smoking laws are much more strictly enforced.

The government's advisory committee on the misuse of drugs (ACMD) says
that while it is true that more young people each year are using
cannabis on an occasional basis, far larger numbers are becoming
addicted to nicotine or drink alcohol frequently and to excess.

The official admission that alcohol and tobacco actually cause far more
harm than cannabis and other illicit drugs marks a major departure in
the 30-year history of the drug advisory body.

It says the scientific evidence is now clear that alcohol and tobacco
have chemical effects on the human brain similar to illegal drugs and
they can no longer neglect two of the most harmful mood-changing drugs
simply because they are legal.

"Among the 6.8 million 16 to 24-year-olds in the UK, there are an
estimated 2.1 million daily smokers, 1.9 million who drink more than
twice the recommended amount at least once a week and 1 million who have
used an illegal drug in the past month," says the ACMD's report,
Pathways to Problems, published today.

It says that although age-related legal curbs on buying drink and
tobacco are flouted by large numbers of young people, prosecutions of
those who sell alcohol and tobacco to underage customers are very rare -
whereas prosecutions for the sale and possession of illegal drugs are
common.

The experts recommend:

* It should be an offence to sell tobacco to anyone under 18 instead of
16 and the new limit should be strictly enforced.

* Poorer driving skills and higher accident rates among under-25s mean
the drink-drive limit should be cut from 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of
blood to 50mg per 100ml.

* Raising excise duty on alcohol to curb binge drinking. The experts say
the real cost of alcohol has been falling and there is strong evidence
that making it more expensive would reduce demand.

* Banning alcohol advertising on television and in cinemas showing
under-18 films as well as sponsorship of music and sports events watched
by teenagers.

* Replacing drug education lessons with repeated campaigns that make
young people aware of the hazards of using tobacco, alcohol and other
drugs. The report says current drug education has little impact.

* Abandoning attempts to introduce sniffer dogs and drug testing into
schools as their impact on pupil-school trust is not offset by the
potential gains.

The report says that of all drugs, alcohol has shown the most recent
growth in use and causes the most problems among young Britons. It adds:
"The most alarming recent development has been the growth in young women
who drink frequently and to excess." The number of women drinking more
than twice the recommended amount has doubled in a decade.

A government spokesman said smoking by under-15s fell by 9% in 2005 and
ministers were already considering raising the legal age to buy
cigarettes to 18. Transport minister Stephen Ladyman said the government
had no plans to change any of the drink-drive limits.

- - - - - - -

Has this report actually been published yet?

On Thu, 14 Sep 2006 00:34:14 GMT, Jasbird > wrote:

><http://society.guardian.co.uk/drugsandalcohol/story/0,,1871985,00.html>
>Young face tougher drink, smoking laws
>
>Call for tighter under-25 drink-drive limit and tobacco ban for
>under-18s
>
>Alan Travis, home affairs editor
>Thursday September 14, 2006
>The Guardian
>
>A much tougher drink-drive limit for young drivers and a higher legal
>age at which cigarettes can be bought are needed to tackle the drugs
>that do most harm to young people, the government's experts on drug
>policy recommend today.
>
>Has this report actually been published yet?

On the front page of major newspapers but their press release / report
are still not found were expected <http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/>,
<http://www.drugs.gov.uk/> nor at Yahoo, MSN or Google (searching for
"Pathways to Problems" ACMD).

The Telegraph
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=MTP2F4ENAAFRDQFIQMGCFFOAVCBQ UIV0?xml=/news/2006/09/14/nteens14.xml>

The Times
<http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2357115,00.html>

Daily Mail
<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=405057&in_page_id=1770>

How irritating can these people get?

On Thu, 14 Sep 2006 00:34:14 GMT, Jasbird > wrote:

><http://society.guardian.co.uk/drugsandalcohol/story/0,,1871985,00.html>
>Young face tougher drink, smoking laws
>
>Call for tighter under-25 drink-drive limit and tobacco ban for
>under-18s
>
>Alan Travis, home affairs editor
>Thursday September 14, 2006
>The Guardian
>
>A much tougher drink-drive limit for young drivers and a higher legal
>age at which cigarettes can be bought are needed to tackle the drugs
>that do most harm to young people, the government's experts on drug
>policy recommend today.

Here it is: <http://www.drugs.gov.uk/drugs-laws/acmd/>