Group of UK lawmakers call for raising age of sale of cigarettes to 21 -Sky

FILE PHOTO: A cigarette stub is seen in an ashtray on a street in Liverpool , northern England October 17 , 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble

A group of British members of parliament has called on the UK government to consider raising the age of sale of cigarettes to 21 from 18 to end the "tobacco epidemic" by the end of the decade, Sky News reported on Wednesday.

The All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health said the age of sale should be increased from 18 as part of tougher regulations to stop children and young people from becoming smokers, as well as to help current smokers quit, the report added

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Christopher Cushing)