Raising the smoking age by just three years could not only result in a healthier society but could also save Australian taxpayers $1.8 billion a year.
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The bold move could also help arrest recent alarming statistics that show West Tamworth as the smoking capital of NSW.
The call to raise the legal age from 18 to 21 is the brainchild of Western Australian mining magnate Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest, who isn’t stopping there either.
Mr Forrest is on a mission to sue “big tobacco” for $15.6 billion in damages as part of the Eliminate Cancer Initiative, following a successful similar landmark ruling in Canada.
"Nearly 90 per cent of adult smokers start as children. By the time they reach 21, they are hooked and become lifelong customers of big tobacco," Mr Forrest said.
"When tobacco causes many times more cost to the nation that it ever brings in revenue, and creates extreme suffering before palliative care and death, there is something seriously wrong with any government in the world, particularly ours, tolerating it. They must be held accountable for the suffering they have caused Australians. And they cannot be allowed to continue preying on our vulnerable youth.”
Despite the country already boasting the toughest laws on tobacco in the world, 15,000 Australian die from smoking related illnesses every year, costing the taxpayer an estimated $31.5 billion in health and economic costs, while dwarfing the $10 billion in revenue that tobacco taxes accrue.
Cancer Council Australia CEO, Professor Sanchia Aranda told The Leader that while the push to raise the smoking age is a step in the right direction, she would like to see some tangible evidence first.
“I am very happy to see Twiggy Forrest taking an interest, but we are cautiously optimistic,” Prof Aranda said.
“We know that if you can get people to delay starting smoking, then they're less likely to start at all. So age is very important, although we would like to see more research done to see if the cost of implementing and policing the change would be beneficial.”
Prof Aranda, like Mr Forrest, is also looking to take the fight to the big tobacco companies on her quest to see a cigarette free society.
“Tobacco is the single largest cause of disease in Australia. There are 37,000 preventable cancer diagnosis every year and tobacco is responsible for 15,500 of those,” she said.
“I would like to see the tobacco companies name a date where they will stop producing cigarettes. They are moving into e-cigarettes and other devices like that, but they will only be credible once they have named a date.”
Mr Forrest and his wife Nicola helped set up the ECI earlier this year with an initial $75 million, part of their record-breaking $400 million philanthropic donation to the Minderoo Foundation.
The foundation’s initial findings suggest that the "Tobacco 21" plan would save the government $3.1 billion in health and associated economic costs every year. Accounting for $1.3 billion in lost tax revenue, there would still be a $1.8 billion benefit.