A majority of MSPs backed a change on raising the age limit

A majority on the Scottish Parliament's health committee voted to give ministers new powers to change the law on tobacco sales.

They supported Duncan McNeil's enabling amendment to the Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Bill.

Deputy Health Minister Rhona Brankin endorsed the change but there was opposition from Liberal Democrats.

Mr McNeil told MSPs that the current law is almost 70 years old and in desperate need of updating.

He said it was passed in the Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937, when smoking was seen as an attractive and harmless thing to do.

Reform is overdue and badly needing an update Duncan McNeil Labour MSP

He said: "Despite that, however, the act still made the majority of working-class children, who left school at 14, wait two years until they could legally buy cigarettes.

"Reform is overdue and badly needing an update."

The Labour MSP for Greenock Inverclyde said the amendment would allow ministers to vary the age limit by an order - rather than having to pass a full parliamentary bill - subject to consultation.

Ms Brankin said an expert group led by Dr Laurence Gruer of NHS Health Scotland would report to ministers next year on the effect of the age limit on smoking levels among youngsters.

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Mike Rumbles opposed the Stage Two amendment, arguing that the committee had not taken relevant evidence.

'Good intentions'

He also dubbed the amendment "flawed" because its terms did not require a ministerial order to be ratified by the full parliament.

He said: "Giving unrestricted power to ministers like this is not, really, good legislation.

"I don't believe that as a committee we can be expected to vote for an amendment which, despite all good intentions, is flawed."

Ms Brankin promised an amendment at Stage Three to ensure that the order to vary the age limit would require the passing of a resolution by parliament.

She said: "It's important that steps are taken to denormalise smoking in our society and the key to this is doing all we can to discourage young people from starting in the first place."

Mr McNeil's amendment was backed by fellow Labour members Paul Martin and Janis Hughes, as well as Scottish National Party health spokesperson Shona Robison and independent MSP Dr Jean Turner.

What we would much prefer to happen is the enforcement of the law as it currently stands in Scotland to make sure that those selling cigarettes to under-16s are dealt with Maureen Moore Ash Scotland

Mr Rumbles voted against it while Tory committee member Dr Nanette Milne abstained.

Anti-smoking group Ash Scotland said there was no evidence that raising the age limit would reduce the prevalence of smoking.

Chief executive Maureen Moore said: "What we would much prefer to happen is the enforcement of the law as it currently stands in Scotland to make sure that those selling cigarettes to under-16s are dealt with."

Neil Rafferty, of pro-smoking group Forest (Freedom Organisation for the Right to Enjoy Smoking Tobacco), said: "In principle we have got no objection to controlling children's access to tobacco. We think it is a substance for adults to enjoy not for children.

"In terms of raising the legal age we are not convinced that it is actually going to have any effect and there is no real enforcement of the current legal age for buying tobacco.

"Perhaps they should concentrate on enforcing that before they start looking at varying the age."

Bill Aitken, the Scottish Tories' chief whip, said he did not think it was a workable idea.

"I would like to know, for example, when someone was last charged under the 1937 act for selling cigarettes and tobacco to kids," he said.