Tobacco Manufacturers Tackle Under-age Sales with New Campaign

The Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association (TMA) has long been committed to youth smoking prevention. As well as positioning smoking as a matter for informed adult choice, the key challenge has been to deny youth access at the point of sale.

In February 1999, the TMA became a founder stakeholder of CitizenCard, the industry funded proof of age scheme. This provided a means for retailers to check the ages of under age looking customers before a sale was made. As well as making CitizenCards freely available to teenagers to enable them to prove their age it soon became clear that another piece was required to complete the proof of age jigsaw.

As a result, TMA members – Gallaher, Imperial, British American Tobacco and Philip Morris Ltd – have provided the funding to launch the No ID No Sale campaign. The launch comes as a recent survey has revealed that 96% of tobacco retailers in the UK have experienced attempts at under-age purchase and 84% have suffered abuse upon refusing a sale.

The aim of the No ID No Sale campaign is to create a culture of expectation, at the point of sale, that age ID should either be offered or produced on demand. By making this the norm, retailers will be in a stronger position to say “No”.

From launch day on 23 January, the sales representatives from the TMA member companies will personally deliver No ID No Sale materials to retailers and brief them on their responsibilities. Full coverage of the nearly 100,000 UK-wide retail outlets for tobacco products is expected to be achieved within three months.

Tim Lord, Chief Executive of the TMA, commented: “ We have consistently stated our support for youth smoking prevention measures. Practical steps such as CitizenCard, which we have fully supported since its launch, are the effective way forward. Now we are building on this with No ID No Sale which has been made possible thanks to funding from our members – Gallaher, Imperial, British American Tobacco and Philip Morris Ltd. “

No ID No Sale has the support of Melanie Johnson MP, Minister for Public Health, the Trading Standards Institute and the retail trade community. The campaign will run as a further dimension to the CitizenCard scheme with the full support of all its stakeholders.

Notes to editors:

1. No ID No Sale promotes the use of ID approved by the Home Office including: UK passports, photo-driving licences and ID cards displaying the PASS (Proof of Age Standards Scheme) hologram including CitizenCard, Connexions, Young Scot and Prove-It.

2. The survey exposing the level of attempts to purchase tobacco products was conducted by the Tobacco Alliance in December 2003. 1600 independent retailers responded to the survey.

3. CitizenCard, which is coordinating the No ID No Sale campaign, is a non-profit organization supported by: the Association of Convenience Stores, Camelot, Experian, Ladbrokes, the National Federation of Retail Newsagents, Somerfield Stores and the TMA.

4. The TMA has supported CitizenCard to the extent that it is now the UK’s largest proof of age card scheme. Thanks in particular to funding from British American Tobacco, CitizenCards are available to all under 18s free of charge.