Health Bill vote, House of Commons, 12 October 2009

This evening the House of Commons voted in favour of implementing a ban on the display of tobacco products at the point of sale.

Christopher Ogden, Chief Executive of the Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association (TMA) [1], said:

“This ban is unnecessary and unjustified. It is also unwanted by a significant number of politicians from all parties [2] and by the retailers whose businesses will be adversely affected to no purpose.

“The TMA believes legislation should be balanced, proportionate and evidence-led. The Government has not presented any credible evidence to support their stated objective that a ban would reduce youth smoking. A Populus survey conducted on behalf of the TMA shows that 64% of people interviewed agreed that a ban would not stop those under the legal age from starting to smoke [3].

“We are very disappointed that the Government has not taken into account evidence provided by key stakeholders that a display ban would create serious unintended consequences. For example, we believe that organised crime will exploit the ban. The regulations will make it easier for rogue traders to hide and sell illicit, unregulated tobacco products. According to the Populus survey [3] 61% agree that a display would risk increasing the black market in cigarettes. Early evidence from Ireland, where a display ban was imposed in July 2009, also bears this out.”

- ENDS -

For further information and/or interviews, please contact:

Dirk Vennix, TMA Director of Communications
24 Hour Press Line: 020 7544 0111
Mobile: 07872376748
Email: dvennix@the-tma.org.uk

Notes to the Editor:

[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] EDM 885, ‘Display of Tobacco Products’, February 2009

“That this House acknowledges the hard work of small and independent retailers; congratulates them on the vital role they play in many diverse communities across the country; recognises the ongoing economic and commercial pressures threatening their viability and survival; is concerned that the regulatory burden placed upon them should be maintained at an appropriate level; expresses its concern that proposed measures to ban the display of tobacco products in small shops are not balanced, proportionate or firmly evidence-based; calls upon the Government to further consider the effects of the measures on the viability of small shops and the market in illicit tobacco; welcomes Government action to address illegal sales of tobacco; and urges the Government to pursue the most effective and proven measures by which under-18 year olds can be deterred from smoking.“

http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=37964&SESSION=899

[3] Populus conducted a survey of 1,001 adults in September 2009.

[4] The economic recession is likely to tempt more people to access cheaper smuggled product from unscrupulous black market traders, who do not care who they sell to and who do not ask for proof of age. There is also a danger that the government proposal to ban the display of tobacco products in shops will play into the hands of criminals trying to infiltrate the retail network.

[5] In 2006/7 the UK government estimated that up to 17% of cigarette and up to 59% of hand rolling tobacco consumption was smuggled. The revenue lost due to tobacco smuggling could be as much as £3.1 billion.

[6] TMA is fully committed to youth access prevention and 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 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. 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.