I’ve almost finished my latest book ‘101 Ways to Improve Australia’.

It’s been a fascinating journey of research into the history of how Australia has become what it is today.

The book is jam packed with many common sense ways to make Australia better.

Idea number 63 below is an interesting one.

Love to know your thoughts?

I will make the book available for free for 72 hours shortly.

63. Ban Cigarette Sales To Anyone Born This Century

Cameron Nolan, a master’s candidate in the John F. Kennedy school of government at Harvard University, believes one way of reducing the harmful effects of cigarette smoking is to ban cigarette sales to anyone born this century.

She says, “We live in a world in which the mass commercialization of cigarettes in the early 20th century rapidly outpaced our understanding of their health consequences.”

About 15,500 Australians die every year from smoking-related diseases, more than road accidents, murders, alcohol and other drugs combined. Every year, three foreign tobacco companies make a combined profit of more than $500 million in Australia while leaving the country with a combined social cost of more than $31 billion.

After the government banned cigarette advertising on television and radio; the tobacco industry increased its print media advertising. The government then banned print media ads, so the tobacco industry increased its sponsorship of sporting events. The government then mandated plain packaging, so the tobacco industry hired a battalion of high priced lawyers and took the matter to the High Court.

This relentless tug-of-war persists as 70,000 young people are recruited into the ranks of smokers every year.

To resolve this impasse the government could mandate that cigarettes can be sold only to a person over 18, and who was born before 2000. This would gradually phase out cigarettes in Australia by forever prohibiting their sale to the next generation.

This proposal balances the rights of existing smokers and the need to protect children born this century from the pernicious effects of tobacco addiction. When it was raised by a group of oncologists in Singapore in 2010, more than 70 per cent of people surveyed supported the plan, including 60 per cent of smokers.

Many of us will be concerned that such a prohibition, as with alcohol in the US in the 1920s, will lead to a proliferation of the black market.

However, the proposal would not criminalize smoking; it would solely impose heavy fines on vendors caught selling tobacco to anyone born after 2000. Inevitably, teenagers would still be able to procure a packet or two of cigarettes, but they would be much less likely to form a packet-a-day addiction lasting many years.

Many of us will also be worried about the effect such a prohibition would have on the tobacco industry and on retailers. However, the gradual nature of the proposal means tobacco companies and retailers will have decades to quit the industry and devote their productive resources elsewhere. Naturally, money not spent on cigarettes will be spent in other parts of the economy, such as clothing and entertainment.

Moreover, in contrast to recent proposals to license smokers, or set a daily limit on the number of cigarettes they can buy, the phase-out proposal has the advantage of imposing minimal regulatory costs. It would merely require vendors to check a buyer’s ID to ensure they were born after 2000.

Despite knowing that cigarettes will kill about 50 percent of long-term smokers, we are somehow happy to carve out an exception for tobacco companies.

Ultimately, it is very difficult to come up with a good reason that justifies the premature deaths of 15,500 Australians every year.

It is time for the government to pick up a knife and cut the problem in half. The phase-out proposal ensures that current smokers will be unaffected, while future generations will be protected.

Jamie McIntyre is the founder of the 21st Century Group of companies and CEO of 21st Century Education. He is also bestselling author, successful entrepreneur, investor, sought after success coach, internationally renowned speaker and world-leading educator. www.jamiemcintyre.com

Jamie McIntyre is the founder of the 21st Century Group of companies and CEO of 21st Century Education. He is also bestselling author, successful entrepreneur, investor, sought after success coach, internationally renowned speaker and world-leading educator. http://www.jamiemcintyre.com

Author Bio: Jamie McIntyre is the founder of the 21st Century Group of companies and CEO of 21st Century Education. He is also bestselling author, successful entrepreneur, investor, sought after success coach, internationally renowned speaker and world-leading educator. www.jamiemcintyre.com

Category: Society
Keywords: 21st Century Education,Australia,ban,blog,Book,cigarette,Government,improve,jame mcintyre,politics