The British Dental Health Foundation (BDHF) has welcomed a government proposal to introduce a £10 licence to smoke, aimed at helping smokers to quit their habit.
Under the new proposal by Health England, smokers would need to pay for a £10 licence before being able to buy cigarettes.
Professor Julian Le Grand, chairman of Health England, suggested the scheme and insists it would make a big difference to the number of people giving up smoking and added that the cash raised would go to the NHS .
Le Grand stressed that the inconvenience of purchasing a licence will make smokers think twice before lighting up.
"It's a little bit of a problem to actually do it, so you have got to make a conscious decision every year to opt in to being a smoker," he said.
"Seventy per cent of smokers actually want to stop smoking . So if you just make it that little bit more difficult for them to actually re-start or even to start in the first place, I think it will make a big difference."
The BDHF said the move is a welcome incentive' for smokers trying to kick the habit.
The organisations chief executive, Dr Nigel Carter, commented: "The Foundation supports any measures designed to reduce the number of smokers in this country ."
"We campaigned for the introduction of smoke-free workplaces and we would back this too particularly as any revenue generated would be put back into the NHS," he added.




