Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association continues to oppose a ban on tobacco display

The Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association (TMA) responded today to the publication of the Health Bill that contains measures to ban the display of tobacco products and to restrict vending machines.

Christopher Ogden, Chief Executive of the Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association (TMA), said:

“The TMA agrees with the government objective to reduce youth smoking but we continue to oppose a ban on tobacco display.  The Health Bill proposal is not supported by robust evidence, will not achieve the stated public health benefit and could have serious unintended consequences, such as disproportionately affecting small businesses and increasing illicit trade.

“Poor regulation is counterproductive and there are other initiatives open to the government that would reduce youth smoking including better enforcement of existing minimum age laws, support for proof-of-age campaigns such as ‘No ID, No Sale’, and tackling illicit trade.

“As the Health Bill makes its passage through Parliament we urge government to allow the tobacco provisions in the Bill to receive a proper debate and to ensure due account is taken of the widespread political and business opposition.  Over 100 MPs, including nearly 50 Labour MPs, signed Early Day Motion 1904 ‘Small Shops and Restrictions on Point of Sale Displays of Tobacco Products’ calling on the Government not to impose a ban on retailers who are worried that current economic pressures already threaten the survival of their businesses and want assurances that regulation will not be increased without sufficient evidence [see full text in Notes to Editors 4].

“Furthermore, Conservative and Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Ministers have publicly stated that they are against a ban and leading retailer bodies have voiced serious concerns about the potential impact on their members.”

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For further information please contact
Zoe Walker, TMA Corporate Affairs Manager
t: 020 7544 0115
e: zwalker@the-tma.org.uk
m: 07790 060041

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 (bat.com), Gallaher Ltd, a member of JTI Group (JTI.com) and Imperial Tobacco Ltd. (imperial-tobacco.com).

2. Consultation on the Future of Tobacco Control (CFTC)

The TMA submission to the CFTC can be found on the TMA website: www.the-tma.org.uk.  The revised CFTC Report was published on 9 January 2009: http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Consultations/Responsestoconsultations/DH_091382 and the original CFTC Report was published on 9 December 2008.  The respondents were listed under Annex 1.  The Department of Health  (DH) omitted to name 89 organisations who responded in the original Report and had to issue a revised Report on 9 January following criticism.   The overall total is now 473 respondents, compared to the original total of 384, meaning 18% of respondents were not included originally by the DH.  In addition, there were tens of thousands of pre-written / postcard submissions, mainly from organisations funded by DH.

3. Tobacco product displays are not predictors of youth smoking. The DH itself stated in the CFTC that predictors of smoking are factors such as: age and sex, home environment, drug use, drinking alcohol, truancy and exclusion from school. It rightly does not list retail displays of tobacco products as a factor and states that the supportive evidence is not conclusive.

In Iceland and some Canadian provinces where product displays have been banned there has been no resulting reduction in smoking consumption. The TMA and its three member companies provided clear evidence from both Canada and Iceland [1] which shows that display bans have not impacted the consumption of cigarettes among young people. Yet nowhere does that evidence appear in the CFTC Report.  The Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey shows that removing point of sale display has indeed coincided with a fall in smoking prevalence rates amongst 15 to 19 year olds – from 22% in 2002 to 15% in 2007 although this is a decline of only 7%, not 10% as quoted by the Department of Health.  In addition, it is the figure for Canada as a whole, while the ban has not been imposed simultaneously across Canada as a whole, but on a province-by-province basis.  In Saskatchewan, which imposed a display ban in 2002 the decline was exactly the same, and in Manitoba which imposed a ban in 2004, the drop from 2004 to 2007 was only 1%, a lower decline than for Canada overall.

4. EDM 1904 ‘Small Shops and Restrictions on Point of Sale Displays of Tobacco Products’, November 2008

That this House acknowledges the hard work of small and independent retailers; congratulates them on the vital role they play in the many diverse communities across the country; recognises the ever-present economic and commercial pressures threatening their viability and survival and is concerned that the regulatory burden placed upon them should be maintained at an appropriate level; expresses its concern that any new measures to restrict the display of tobacco products in small shops should be balanced, proportionate and firmly evidence-based; and calls upon the Government to commit to open, full and genuine consultation with all affected and interested parties to examine the effect of any such proposals on the viability of small shops, the market in illicit tobacco and the impact on competition; further welcomes Government action to address illegal sales of tobacco; and urges the Government to continue to pursue the most effective and proven measures by which under-18s can be deterred from smoking. http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=36225&SESSION=891

5. TMA is 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 (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.
6. TMA supports 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 on the market.
•Above the counter displays are necessary to 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 buying tobacco products [2].
•Concealing tobacco products from view will: make it easier for traders of smuggled product to blend it into the legal supply chain; will blur the distinction between the legal and illegal market by virtue of it being out of sight; is likely to increase counterfeiting; and, could increase the large illicit tobacco market. Up to 17% of all cigarettes and 59% of handrolling tobacco smoked in the UK already avoid duty resulting in a loss of up to £3.1 billion in tax revenue to HM Treasury [3]. The ban will hinder the pro-active work undertaken by TMA members, through their Memorandum of Understanding [4] with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), to assist HMRC and Trading Standards in detecting counterfeit tobacco products, as highlighted in the revised Tackling Tobacco Smuggling document [5] and which has led to a reduction of smuggling of genuine tobacco products.
•Point of sale display is necessary for fair and undistorted competition between manufacturers and between retailers.
7. TMA supports 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.

[1] Statistics Iceland 2007. In Iceland where the ban was imposed the rate of decline in smoking has not increased
[2] General Household Survey plus Continuous Household Survey (Northern Ireland) 200
[3] Measuring Indirect Tax Gaps – 2008. HMRC, November 2008
[4] Memorandum of Understanding was signed between HMRC and TMA’s member companies in 2006.
[5] Tackling Tobacco Smuggling Together Nov 2008 HMRC UKBA Chapter 1, 1.12 p2. announced in the Pre-Budget Report 24/11/08