Is 16 too young to join the Armed Forces?

Editorial published in the BMJ urges ban on enlistment of adolescents on health grounds

Junior Soldiers take part in Europe's biggest graduation parade at the Army Foundation College, Harrogate
(Image credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

The British government is under renewed calls to ban the recruitment of under-18s into the Armed Forces.

In an editorial published in the British Medical Journal, co-authors Guddi Singh, a paediatrician, and Reem Abu-Hayyeh, of public health charity Medact, cite past studies showing that “military service during adolescence causes specific health harms during this critical period of development”.

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