Hi Zhou Ling,

It is possible that you are using an out of date copy of the study materials here. The following quote is taken from page 31 of the seond edition of the official Home Office study materials, which the test is based on:

"From 1 October 2007 it is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under 18 years old."

This means that in this case the answer is 18 years old. You should check that your study book is up to date - was it published in 2007 or later?

There are lots of places where the official materials are out of date, however. This means that the study materials say one thing, but the law has changed since they were written.

A full list of all of the incorrect material in the Home Office study materials, along with the corrected information, can be found at http://lifeintheuk.net/index.php/resource_post/keeping_the_life_in_the_uk_test_up_to_date/.

In terms of taking your test, the UKBA / Home Office advise that you should learn the material as reproduced in the study materials - they also say that you shouldn't be tested on out of date facts, but I would strongly advise caution here and learning all the official materials as printed, up-to-date or not.

I hope this helps
George

Hi George,

Your comments are correct but not complete. Home Office published a few impressions of the second edition since it was first released. As far as I can remember first impression of the second edition was published before the law was changed and therefore you can find second edition of the book (and many websites claiming to be based on second edition of the book) with the following text instead:

By law, it is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under 16 years old.

I just thought I should make it very clear that just because someone has second edition of the book does not necessarily mean they have the latest copy of the book.

A final note; this website including http://www.lifeintheunitedkingdomtest.co.uk is based on second edition sixth impression of the book which is the latest copy I have.

Regards,

E Fidan
Administrator

Thanks for the clarification - my comments were based on the ninth impression so they say it is 18.

On this topic, I did enquire with the UKBA regarding how to study for questions on topics like this one where the materials have changed, or the situation has changed after publication. The official answer I was given is that questions on these topics should not come up in people's tests.

However, I would advise caution myself and recommend learning the materials as reproduced from the latest version of the study materials for the test.

I would be interested to hear from any users who have had this question come up in their test recently though, to confirm if this question has been taken out of circulation or not.

George

Interesting topic, do you guys know what's the last available impression then and where to check them in case they change again in the future?

hi, please ask

Children buy tobacco is 18 years old? Or 16?

Online practice inside is 18 years old, but in books is 16. Which correctly?