UK - Guernsey plan to criminalise under 18's for tobacco possession widely criticized

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caballero

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£500 maximum fine for children with cigarettes called draconian

ISLANDERS have hit out at ‘draconian’ proposals to fine children caught carrying cigarettes.
HEALTH Smoking/cigarette

If the States passes the proposals, it would be made a criminal offence for anyone under 18 to possess tobacco products in public.

Under the recommendations, police officers would have the power to confiscate the items, and issue a fine of up to £500.

But posters on the Guernsey Press Facebook page were outraged by the plans.

‘Draconian,’ said Marcus Shaw. ‘This won’t stop kids trying tobacco any more than it stops them trying cannabis or Ecstasy. It will just criminalise and further alienate a generation of youngsters.’

Sue Robins said: ‘Totally ridiculous is all I have to say on the matter.

James Edmonds felt it was a good idea to reduce under-age smoking but believed the proposals went ‘too far’.

‘How many under 18s could afford a £500 fine. Making it illegal adheres to their already rebellious nature.’

Nikita Bisson said she would prefer to see the young people caught carry out community service.

‘I agree that smoking needs to be “demonised” towards youngsters as I would hate for my boys to ever start.’

http://guernseypress.com/news/2014/06/30/500-fine-for-children-with-cigarettes-called-draconian/

With comments
 
I support tobacco controls but fining the user is just idiotic - it's the seller who should be fined.
 
^Exactly. Go after the adults not the kids. The parents should worry about the kids. Before I was 15 or 16 my dad would have kicked my ass if I smoked a cig. After 16 its hard to tell someone not to smoke because everyone knows someone that is over 18 or 19 or whatever you want to make the age.
 
Draconian sentencing policy for drugs compared to the rest of the British Isles and the majority of western Europe, being forced into putting Human Rights laws, Anti Discrimination laws etc into place many years after the rest of Europe, keeping homosexuality illegal decades after mainland Britain decriminalised it, if i had time i would go on.

It's pretty common knowledge that the Channel Islands are generally many years behind the real world.
 
weekend addiction said:
^Exactly. Go after the adults not the kids. The parents should worry about the kids. Before I was 15 or 16 my dad would have kicked my ass if I smoked a cig. After 16 its hard to tell someone not to smoke because everyone knows someone that is over 18 or 19 or whatever you want to make the age.
Click to expand...

I think that the motivation behind this plan is to get the adults to kick the kids' asses, just as your dad would have done.
 
^An interesting punishment for the kids: force the kids to do volunteer work at a nursing home (preferably one that specializes in lung cancer\breathing problems). They can't do medical stuff but they can do the landscaping and certain other manual labor as a form of community service.

Undoubtedly encountering so many people that are on the verge of death may give them some sobering experiences about the importance of life.
 
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