Identity cards could be issued to teenagers in a bid to cut the number of under-age smokers in the county.

Trading standards officers are debating the move as part of a new tobacco strategy for the county, which is being considered by Oxfordshire Health Authority.

Other proposals include issuing free nicotine patches to those who want to quit smoking and clamping down on shops who serve under-age smokers.

The strategy, which has been drawn up by the Oxfordshire Alliance on Smoking Issues, was discussed at a meeting of Oxford City Council's health and environment committee on Tuesday. The main objectives of the strategy are:

*Reduce the prevalence of smoking among young people

*Continue the decrease in numbers of adults who smoke

*Improve the health of expectant mothers

*Reduce levels of smoke in the environment.

Smoking remains the single largest preventable cause of death and illness in the country, killing more than 120,000 people every year. The Government declared its intention to tackle the issue in a recent White Paper.

Story date: Friday 22 October

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.