Denmark set to tackle smoking and drinking

Denmark is thinking about banning the sale of cigarettes as the northern European nation looks to break the cycle of addiction and harm caused by smoking.

The country of almost 6 million people has unveiled radical plans to steer future generations away from cigarettes and other products containing the addictive substance nicotine, including potentially banning their sale to people born after 2010.

The idea is that, while currently only people younger than 12 would be impacted by such a ban, eventually, as the years roll by, everyone will fall within its jurisdiction.

Currently, people need to be 18 or older to buy tobacco products and e-cigarettes.

"Our hope is that all people born in 2010 and later will never start smoking or using nicotine-based products", Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said at a news conference where he unveiled the idea. "If necessary, we are ready to ban the sale (of these products) to this generation by progressively raising the age limit."

The nation's health ministry said around 31 percent of Danes aged 15-to-29 are smokers. The addiction is the main cause of cancer, with it blamed for causing 13,600 deaths a year in the Nordic country.

While the plan put forward by the Social Democratic government to phase out tobacco upset smokers, the general population seems to support the proposal. A survey conducted by the Danish Cancer Society found 64 percent of Danes liked the idea, with support rising to 67 percent among 18- to 34-year-olds.

Denmark is the latest in a growing list of nations to vow to stub out smoking. The New Zealand government has said it wants to consign smoking to the ash tray by 2025. In the United Kingdom, Javed Khan, who is leading an independent review of the nation's smoking policies, has said he may recommend the government bans people under the age of 25 from buying tobacco products.

Denmark is also understood to have been inspired by initiatives in Ireland, Sweden, and Finland, where there are plans in place to encourage a smoke-free generation to develop by between 2025 and 2030.

Denmark has also said it wants to see fewer young people binge drinking and intends to raise the age at which people can buy beer and wine, from 16 to 18.

Niels Sando, a spokesperson for the health ministry, told TV2 News: "We know that young people who drink large amounts of alcohol in one setting are at increased risk of accidents, violence and unwanted sex. Alcohol can also be harmful and affect both memory and learning ability in children and young people whose brains are still developing."