The Government sends out all the wrong messages over who can do what when

1.33.17pm GMT Mon 5th Dec 2005

The Government has got itself in a huge mess over who can do what when, over the last few weeks we have seen the Government flip-flop over smoking in pubs, relax the licensing laws, propose reduce the age of standing for Parliament, oppose any reduction in the voting age and look likely to support a move to increase the age of buying cigarettes!

Apart from the age thing, there is a bigger problem the Government on hand is suggesting that they are happy for people to kill themselves with alcohol but not with cigarettes - obviously I would rather people didn't kill themselves with either but the Government is sending mixed messages.

On age rates - the messages they are sending out make little sense. We have a ridiculous variance of ages when people can do things in this country, for example apart from the age to buy cigarettes and alcohol differing gambling is 18 in a betting shop but only 16 to buy a lottery ticket.

It would make much more sense to have one common age where everything that is legal is legal from that age. I would certainly suggest that age should be 16, not only as you can do many things from the age already but pay tax, die for your country and marry/leave home can all be done at 16 - if you are old enough to do that then you can do the rest too.