§ Mr. Lofthouseasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what action he is taking to discourage the sale of cigarettes to children under 16 years of age.
§ Mr. John PattenFollowing very useful discussions with retail associations, we are drawing up guidelines to discourage illegal sale of cigarettes to children. Details of these will be available soon. The Government are also taking a number of more general initiatives to dissuade young people from purchasing cigarettes. A leaflet drawing attention to recent research facts has been sent to schools throughout the country. We are sponsoring research, using market research methods, aimed at providing a better understanding of what influences young people to smoke. The results should help in developing further effective policies against smoking. A further Government survey of children's smoking habits will be carried out later this year. The Health Education Council undertakes a significant amount of work to discourage children from smoking.