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MSPs today backed plans to raise the legal age for buying cigarettes from 16 to 18 in less than three weeks. The Scottish Parliaments health committee...

MSPs today backed plans to raise the legal age for buying cigarettes from 16 to 18 in less than three weeks.The Scottish Parliaments health committee unanimously backed the move which is aimed at cutting the number of young people smoking.Final approval for increasing the age limit is expected to be given by the parliament in full session tomorrow.

Committee convener Christine Grahame said some shops were concerned that introducing the new age limit on October 1 was too short a lead-in time. But Health Minister Shona Robison said there had already been a lot of publicity about the likelihood of the change.And she said: "The evidence from media research does show the messages in the two weeks before a change in the law are the most effective because it is immediately in peoples minds."

Ms. Robison also said the Scottish Government was considering a licensing scheme for tobacco retailers.But she said a "positive" licensing system, where shopkeepers needed a permit before they could sell cigarettes, could mean a lot of bureaucracy and expense.She told the committee: "A negative licensing scheme may have the same desired effect but with less bureaucracy and cost. Everyone would have the presumed right to sell tobacco, but if they were in breach of the law that right would be removed and they would be prohibited from selling.

"Im open-minded and we are giving all these measures active consideration at the moment."Liberal Democrat Ross Finnie backed the idea of "negative" licensing but called for more information on how the new age limit was going to be enforced.Selling tobacco products to minors carries a fine of up to ?2500.But official figures show there were only 11 people prosecuted in 2006-7 for illegal sales of tobacco.

Mr. Finnie said: "Ive no doubt trading officers were equally enthusiastic several years ago about enforcing the current law. It hasnt worked."I do think we have to hear more positively about how that enforcement is to be pursued." Ms Robison said there were plans to extend the Young Scot "proof of age" cards to 500,000 young people by the end of the year.

But she said it would be up to retailers to make sure "proof of age" worked.She told the committee: "Any card is only as good as the retailer asking for it."The message has to be a no proof, no sale policy for all age-restricted goods, whether its tobacco or any other item."The plan to outlaw cigarette sales to under-18s was initiated under the previous Labour-Liberal Democrat Scottish Executive.

The change will bring Scotland into line with Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland and Spain. The age limit in France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Denmark, and the Netherlands remains at 16.British research has shown that people aged 16 and 17 spend more than ?33 million on six million packets of cigarettes a year and 13-15 year-olds buy nearly three million packets a year at a cost of more than ?15 million.Last week the BMA renewed its calls for tough measures to tackle teenage smoking, including a ban on the sale of ten-pack cigarettes, the outlawing of vending machines and a requirement for cigarettes to be kept under the counter.