Children's Health Up In Smoke

Cooper Cruize has been smoking since year 7. Now in year 12, he explains how he walked into the same convenience store before school every day and buying packets for himself and his friends. No questions asked.

“They knew how old I was. They knew I was a kid. It was never a hassle.”

According to ASH Australia, over 100,000 Australian school children smoke regularly and majority of smokers take up the habit well before they are adults. In response, the anti-smoking laws in Australia have been designed to make buying cigarettes impossible for people under 18. So how are so many so many kids taking up this deadly habit? Where are they getting the cigarettes?

Cooper recalls how the shopkeepers would deviously sell to him, even though they were well aware that he was an underage school student.

“They gave the cigarettes to me in a brown paper bag, like a lunch bag. The shop was in the middle of a big shopping centre and I guess they didn’t want people seeing them sell to a 12 year-old kid in a school uniform. I used to go in so often that every time they saw me they would quickly get it ready or sometimes ask me to come around the counter so that I can put it in my pocket before I walk out.”

The Cancer Council NSW is aware that tobacco retailers, especially those near schools are cashing in on the health of children like Cooper.

“This is a problem because we know from research that more people are likely to smoke when there are more places to buy tobacco. Tobacco retailers near schools make it more likely that kids will smoke.”

Ken Lin, a senior student who began buying cigarettes in year 8, describes how there is a “smoking culture” at his prestigious Northern Beaches private school.

“All the kids get their cigarettes from the same newsagent. Everyone at school knows about this place. It is so close and very convenient and very accessible. They never ask about our age even though we wear our uniforms and blazers with the school emblem on them. And the kids who buy the most are the young ones, the ones in year 7 and 8, the ones who reckon smoking is cool.

Lisa Kruize, Cooper’s mother, is undoubtedly shocked at the way these convenience stores, especially the ones near schools, are exploiting the health of children to increase their profits.

“I can’t believe it. I didn’t know Cooper smoked so young. I thought that the laws would stop him from buying cigarettes, and I don’t smoke so he couldn’t get them from me. The fact that anyone would sell to a 12 year old is beyond belief, and highly illegal!

caroline geroyan
carolinegeroyan