The British Medical Association's Annual Representative Meeting is taking place in Harrogate this week.
This five-day event "meets to debate motions on various aspects of doctors' working lives and professional practice. Motions for debate come largely from BMA Divisions, branch of practice committees, and national councils and, once passed at the ARM, they become the backbone of BMA policy for the coming year."
One of the motions is:
That this Meeting acknowledges both the substantial harm to health caused by smoking cigarettes and that nicotine addiction is very hard to break. It therefore calls on the BMA to campaign to ban forever the sale of cigarettes to any individual born after the year 2000."
A couple of weeks ago the Guardian asked me to comment but as far as I know the paper didn't run the story.
Here's my response:
"Prohibition won't work. Criminals will make a fortune selling cigarettes to anyone who can't buy them legally.
"We already have legislation designed to stop children smoking. Enforce those laws and ban proxy purchasing.
"The idea that free-thinking adults could be barred from buying cigarettes because of the year in which they're born is both preposterous and discriminatory.
"It's arbitrary, unenforceable and completely illiberal."
I've no idea when this motion is going to be debated but if I find out I'll let you know.
Update: I'm discussing the issue on BBC Tees shortly after 9.30.
Update: The Guardian report was published this morning – see Doctors to vote on cigarette sale ban for those born after 2000.
According to the Guardian the motion will be debated tomorrow.
Simon Clark
I've just been on BBC Tees.
Before me they spoke to a doctor attending the BMA event in Harrogate. I agreed with much of what he said.
He described the motion as "impractical" and said he believed in "free will".
Despite this he then said he would vote for the motion!