CANBERRA, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Mining magnate Andrew Forrest has called for Australia's legal smoking age to be raised to 21.
Forrest, who has a net worth of 4.5 billion U.S. dollars, along with his wife Nicola has established the Eliminate Cancer Initiative (ECI), a lobby group which is working to raise the smoking age to 21, a move it said would save lives.
The group is also looking into suing big tobacco companies to the tune of billions of dollars for the cost of smoking-related illnesses.
Any lawsuit would be based on a landmark 2015 Canadian decision which saw smokers awarded 12.5 billion U.S. dollars.
Forrest, who served as chief executive officer (CEO) of Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) from 2003 to 2015, said in a statement Monday that tobacco companies had to be held accountable for the suffering they caused.
"Nearly 90 percent of adult smokers start as children. By the time they reach 21, they are hooked and become lifelong customers of big tobacco," Forrest said.
"When tobacco causes many times more cost to the nation that it ever brings in revenue, and creates extreme suffering before palliative care and death, there is something seriously wrong with any government in the world, particularly ours, tolerating it."
"We need to stop fuelling big tobacco preying on our vulnerable youth."
Ronald DePinho, a director of ECI and former President of the MD Anderson Cancer Center in the United States, said that the "Tobacco 21" plan could inspire the world to follow suit.
"Tobacco 21 is a child health issue that must be addressed with urgency, as hundreds of Australian children experiment with tobacco products every day," DePinho said.
The proposal to put the burden of smoking-related health costs back on the tobacco industry was welcomed by the Australian Council on Smoking and Health.
"The biggest impact of a successful legal action would be to hasten the demise of the tobacco industry in Australia," Maurice Swanson, President of the council, said.
"We're aiming for a smoke-free Australia by 2025 and this sort of action by Andrew Forrest would put another nail in the coffin of the tobacco industry."
