Sir, - Dr William Reville's informative article in Science Today (February 1st) states that it is not uncommon nowadays for children to start smoking from about 10 years of age and that parents must be targeted in anti-smoking campaigns.
Another section of Irish society that must be targeted is retailers. ASH Ireland is aware of incidents where children as young as five are being sold cigarettes, and we know from a survey undertaken by ASH that 90 per cent of retailers around the country sold cigarettes to 12-year-old children, no questions asked.
There is legislation in place which states that tobacco products should not be sold to children under 16. The active implementation of this legislation would make tobacco products considerably less accessible to children, and ultimately make a marked reduction in the 6,000 deaths caused by tobacco use in Ireland every year as most smokers take up the habit at a very young age. -Yours, etc., Valerie Coghlan,
Administrator, ASH Ireland, Northumberland Road, Dublin 4.