Tasmania could be the first state in Australia to ban the sale of cigarettes to people aged under 21, The Advocate reported.
A bill introduced last year by Independent Windermere member Ivan Dean will be debated when Parliament resumes on 6 August. Under the legislation, the legal age for Tasmanians who want to buy tobacco products would be lifted incrementally from 18 to 21 over three years, the report said.
"This is about saving lives, preventing people getting sick and dying prematurely," Ivan Dean was quoted as saying. "We would be the first state in Australia to do this and I'm told everybody is sitting back watching us."
According to the report, Tasmania's smoking rate stands at 17.9 per cent compared with 14.5 per cent nationally.
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