Banning the display of tobacco products is the wrong approach, says the TMA

The tobacco industry today reacted with disbelief to the news that the Government intends to press ahead with a ban on the display of tobacco products, despite widespread political and business opposition, and the lack of credible evidence that a ban would reduce underage smoking.

Over one hundred MPs, including nearly 50 Labour MPs, signed an Early Day Motion calling on the Government not to impose a ban on retailers without sufficient evidence.  Conservative and Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Ministers are also opposed to a ban.  In addition, leading retailer bodies across the country expressed their opposition.

Chris Ogden, Chief Executive of the TMA, said:

“The TMA is opposed to tobacco display bans which are not supported by robust evidence, will not achieve the stated public health benefit and will have serious unintended consequences.

“We want to help tackle underage smoking and there are plenty of effective ways of doing so.  But, as we have reminded all those in Government, a display ban is not one of them. It hasn’t worked in other countries and it won’t work here.  In Iceland and Canada display bans have not reduced the consumption of cigarettes.

“A ban on the display of products will also blur the distinction between the legal and illegal market by virtue of it all being ‘out of sight’ and will play into the hands of criminals trying to infiltrate the retail network. Smuggling continues to account for up to 17% of cigarette and 59% of handrolling tobacco consumption, resulting in a loss of up to £3.1 billion to HM Treasury. The efforts of tobacco companies and HMR&C have led to a reduction of smuggling of genuine tobacco products but the display ban proposal is likely to increase counterfeiting and illicit trade. Displays are necessary for fair and undistorted competition between manufacturers and between retailers.

“There are more effective alternatives to prevent under 18s from accessing cigarettes.  Proof of age schemes should be better supported, the law on underage sales more strongly enforced and the government should crack down on the illegal trade in tobacco.

“Adults who choose to smoke should have the right to buy tobacco, and retailers the right to display and sell what is, after all, a legal product. We welcome sensible proposals that will assist in preventing the sale of tobacco to children under the age of 18, which are fair, balanced, proportionate and above all, evidence-based.”

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

The TMA submission to the Consultation on the Future of Tobacco Control (CFTC) can be found on the TMA website: www.the-tma.org.uk

2. 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 (www.citizencard.com), the UK’s leading proof-of-age scheme [1.8m cards issued] and the No ID, No Sale (NINS) (www.noidnosale.com) 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 over 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.

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

• Displays allow adult consumers to make an informed choice based on availability, price and brand from the wide range of tobacco products.
• 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 Fast Moving Consumer Good (FMCG) product in retail outlets, with approximately 11million smokers in the UK regularly buying tobacco products . A display ban could increase the large illicit market in tobacco, where 17% of all cigarettes and 59% of rolling tobacco smoked in the UK already avoiding duty resulting in a loss of up to £3.1 billion in tax revenue to HM Treasury
• Concealing tobacco products from view will make it easier for traders of smuggled product to blend it into the legal supply chain.

4. Support the continued use of tobacco vending machines with age-verification access

• Access to cigarette vending machines should be controlled in order to prevent sales to children and the National Association of Cigarette Machine Operators (NACMO) Code of Practice on the positioning of machines should be strictly adhered to.
• The TMA believes that vending operators and manufacturers need to identify and utilize systems that enable the purchase of tobacco products by adults only.