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B.C. Health Minister Terry Lake has floated the idea of raising the legal age to buy cigarettes.
Heading into National Non-Smoking Week, Lake tweeted: "Time to consider raising the age of tobacco consumption to 21 like California, Hawaii and over 120 local jurisdictions in the US?"
"It really is just the start of a conversation," Lake told CTV. "It's Terry Lake saying to British Columbians: Is this something that we should consider?"
National Non-Smoking week runs from Jan. 19 to 25.
The provincial government offers free smoking cessation products through any pharmacist for those looking to kick the habit.
– with files from CTV Vancouver