MP: "5 children a week take up smoking in our area, we must act to protect their health"

South Lakes MP Tim Farron has called for 'robust action from trading standards on the minority of shops that are selling cigarettes to children.'

This comes after research was published by the British Medical Association (BMA) showed that in Cumbria, 34 children aged 11-15 start smoking each week, 5 of those from South Lakeland.

The research published last week shows that currently in the UK around 207 000 children aged 11-15 start smoking every year. Due to recent legislative changes, in England, local authorities now have responsibility for public health and according to the BMA greater awareness of local burden should encourage them to give attention to implementation and enforcement of public health measures.

Tim said: "Many adults make the choice to smoke, and that is their decision, but this research shows that 5 young people a week in our area start smoking. We need to make sure that a small minority of shops are not selling cigarettes to children not even in their teens. Many shops take their responsibility seriously and we should praise their efforts. I'm calling for more action from trading standards to deal with the unscrupulous minority."