Retailers reminded Pictorial Health Warnings will be added to tobacco products

From 1 October 2008 the Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association is reminding retailers of the start of new UK legislation requiring pictorial health warnings to be displayed on all tobacco products manufactured for the UK market. The first packs will arrive in outlets soon after the 1 October 2008 but retailers will be allowed to sell stock with the existing textual warnings on the back of the packs until the end of September 2009 in the case of cigarettes and until the end of September 2010 in the case of other tobacco products such as handrolled tobacco.

The Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association is helping to make retailers aware that cigarette packs containing existing text health warnings on the back of packs will continue to be supplied by manufacturers until all stock manufactured prior to 1 October 2008 is exhausted. It is perfectly legal to sell these in store until 30 September 2009.

Christopher Ogden, Chief Executive of the Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association, commented:

“We have seen numerous regulatory interventions take place over the last 15 months with the aim of reducing the prevalence of smoking. These include: the public place smoking ban, the rise in minimum age from 16 to 18, legislation providing for sanctions against retailers who make underage sales and now pictorial health warnings. We believe it is essential the Government ensures a proper assessment of all these policies takes place, supported by credible evidence, before embarking on any further initiatives, such as the ban on the display of tobacco products.”

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Notes to Editors:

1. The TMA is the trade association for tobacco companies that operate in the UK. Our members are British American Tobacco UK Ltd (www.bat.com), Gallaher Ltd (a member of the JTI Group of companies – www.jti.com), and Imperial Tobacco Ltd. (UK). (www.imperial-tobacco.com).

2. Tobacco control legislation

• The raising of the age of sale for tobacco products from 16 to 18 years is now UK-wide since 1^st September 2008.
• The restriction orders provided for under the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 will be brought into effect from April 2009 – after this date retailers who flout the minimum age law could have their right to sell tobacco suspended.
• No date has yet been announced for the bringing into effect of the significant additional enforcement powers made available by the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008.

3. Fully committed to youth access prevention

• The TMA completely agrees with the Government that children should not smoke and should be actively discouraged from doing so. The TMA is a principal stakeholder in Citizencard, the UK’s leading proof-of-age scheme [1.8m cards issued] and the (No ID No Sale) campaign operated by CitizenCard which promotes all PASS accredited (Government approved) Proof of Age / ID schemes.
• The key issue is that retailers must be able to establish the age of any potential customer before a sale is made. We fully support sanctions against those retailers who sell to young people, and welcome stronger enforcement of the law to prevent underage sales.
• The NINS campaign has engaged more than 130,000 retailers nationwide and created a culture in which young people expect to be asked to prove their age, and in which retailers accept only the correct ID.

4. Support the retention of tobacco product displays at point of sale in shops

• Displays enable adult consumers to make an informed choice based on availability, price and brand from the wide range of tobacco products.
• Point of sale display is necessary for fair and undistorted competition between manufacturers and between retailers.
• Above the counter displays are necessary as they keep products secure, speed up transaction times and reduce the need for extended verbal communication.
• Tobacco is the most requested FMCG product in retail outlets, with approximately 11million smokers in the UK regularly smoking cigarettes and/or handrolling tobacco products. (1)
• Concealing tobacco products from view will make it easier for traders of smuggled product to blend it into the legal supply chain. The efforts of tobacco companies and HMR&C have led to a reduction of smuggling of genuine tobacco products but this display ban proposal is likely to increase counterfeiting and illicit trade.

(1) General Household Survey plus Continuous Household Survey (Northern Ireland) 2006