“Tobacco smuggling is a widespread problem in Scotland. It undermines law-abiding businesses, funds other forms of organised crime and it deprives the Treasury of up to £3 billion per annum, at a time when the government can ill afford to be losing these revenues.

”We very much welcome, therefore, the BBC programme ‘Smoking & the Bandits’, as the public should be made more aware of the issues surrounding the illicit trade in tobacco. However, we are deeply concerned that the Coalition Government’s decision to raise VAT in January and a proposed above inflation duty increase at the forthcoming Budget will serve only to encourage higher levels of smuggled product and associated criminality. This will in turn undermine the co-ordinated steps that HM Revenue & Customs and the tobacco manufacturers have been taking to tackle this problem.”

– ENDS -

For further information/visuals/interviews, please contact:

Dirk Vennix, Director of Communications
t: 020 7544 0111 m: 07872 376748
e: e: dvennix@the-tma.org.uk

Notes to Editors:

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

2/ A typical pack of 20 cigarettes cost £6.63 in the UK against around £3.10 in Spain and less than £2.00 in Poland.

3/ The UK has the second highest cigarette taxation in the European Union, behind the Republic of Ireland.

4/ BBC One Scotland broadcast Smoking & the Bandits on 19 January 2011. It can be viewed temporarily on BBC iPlayer

“This bill contains provisions that would implement a ban on the display of tobacco products at the point of sale in Scotland. The proposed ban is unnecessary, unjustified and unwanted by many stakeholders, especially the retailers whose businesses will be adversely affected to no purpose.

“The serious unintended consequences of this proposal have been ignored by the Scottish Health and Sport Committee. We believe, as recent evidence in Ireland (1) proves, that organised crime will exploit the display ban. The proposed legislation will make illicit, unregulated tobacco products easier to sell.

“There is no credible evidence to support the government’s stated objective that a ban would reduce youth smoking. Recent evidence from Canada has demonstrated that youth smoking has remained the same or increased in 5 of the 8 Canadian provinces that have implemented a display ban (2).

“We hope that common sense will prevail and the Bill will be amended when it is debated in the Scottish Parliament tomorrow. The last thing we need in the midst of challenging economic times is further regulation that will facilitate illicit trade in tobacco products and impact adversely on thousands of small retailers and the communities they serve.”

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

(1) The Republic of Ireland implemented a ban on the display of tobacco products in July 2009.
(2) Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey 2008 (Current smokers aged 15-19).

“This bill contains provisions that would implement a ban on the display of tobacco products at the point of sale in Scotland. We are very disappointed that the Health and Sport Committee has not taken into account compelling evidence provided by manufacturers, retailers and other stakeholders that the ban will not have its intended effect.”

“The proposed ban is unnecessary, unjustified and unwanted by many stakeholders, especially the retailers whose businesses will be adversely affected to no purpose.

“The serious unintended consequences of this proposal have also been ignored by the Scottish Health and Sport Committee. We believe, as evidence in Ireland proves, with the seizure of significant quantities of counterfeit cigarettes of the top two brands in Ireland , that organised crime will exploit the display ban. The proposed legislation will make illicit, unregulated tobacco products easier to sell.

“There is no credible evidence to support the government’s stated objective that a ban would reduce youth smoking. New evidence from Canada recently demonstrated that youth smoking has remained the same or increased in 5 of the 8 Canadian provinces that have implemented a ban.

“We hope that common sense will prevail and the Bill will be amended when it is debated in the Scottish Parliament. The last thing we need in the midst of recession is further regulation that will facilitate illicit trade in tobacco products and impact adversely on thousands of small retailers and the communities they serve.”
- 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

1 The Republic of Ireland implemented a ban on the display of tobacco products in July 2009.
2 Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey 2008 (Current smokers aged 15-19).

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] 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.

[3] 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.

[4] The TMA strongly agrees with the Scottish 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 [nearly 2 million 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.

“This bill contains provisions that would implement a ban on the display of tobacco products at the point of sale.

“The proposed ban is unnecessary, unjustified and unwanted by many stakeholders, especially the retailers whose businesses will be adversely affected to no purpose. There is no credible evidence to support the government stated objective that a ban would reduce youth smoking. Only this week the Prime Minister of New Zealand said he had no intention of introducing a ban as there is no international evidence that it actually works and it’s hugely expensive to do it.

“We hope that common sense will prevail and the Bill will be amended when it is debated in the Scottish Parliament. The last thing we need in the midst of recession [2] is further regulation that will facilitate illicit trade in tobacco products and impact adversely on thousands of small retailers and the communities they serve.”

- ENDS -

For further information and/or interviews, please contact:

Dirk Vennix, TMA Director of Communications
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] 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.

[3] 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.

[4] The TMA strongly agrees with the Scottish 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 [1.9m 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.

“We welcome the Scottish government’s plans to increase enforcement of  the laws on illegal and underage sales of tobacco products. We are confident the proposals to clamp down on the flourishing black market will build on the pro-active work done by TMA’s member companies, through their Memorandum of Understanding [3] with HM Revenue & Customs, in providing Customs with effective tools to detect counterfeit tobacco products [4]. We hope our combined activities will result in further reductions in tobacco smuggling.

“However, serious threats remain. 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 in Scotland.

“We believe proof-of-age programmes in retail outlets have stopped children accessing cigarettes in the past and will continue to do so. We actively support Scottish retailers in enforcing the minimum legal age of 18 for the sale of tobacco by means of age verification materials like CitizenCard and the Young Scot card and support for the ’No ID, No Sale’  campaign [5]. The public health minister’s announcement on stronger enforcement by Trading Standards officers is welcomed as we believe this is a most effective way to tackle youth smoking.

“We now look forward to working with the Scottish government and law enforcement agencies in our common fight against the scourge of tobacco smuggling.”

- ENDS -

For further information and/or interviews, please contact:

Dirk Vennix, TMA Director of Communications
t: 020 7544 0111
m: 07872376748
e: 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] In 2006/7 the UK government estimated that up to 17% of cigarette and up to 59% of handrolling tobacco consumption was smuggled. The revenue lost due to tobacco smuggling could be as much as £3.1 billion.

[3] The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in March 2006 between the TMA’s member companies and HM Revenue & Customs create a comprehensive framework for co-operation aimed at combating the smuggling of both genuine and counterfeit tobacco products into the UK as well as seeking to deter all aspects of the illicit trade in tobacco products.

[4] TMA Press Release ‘Anti-Counterfeit Scheme for UK Tobacco Products’ 26 October 2007

[5]  The TMA strongly agrees with the Scottish 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 [1.9m 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.

“We welcome the recommendations on more effective enforcement of tobacco sales and the increased emphasis on youth smoking prevention. However, we believe that there is insufficient evidence to suggest that banning displays of tobacco products at the point of sale will deter young people from taking up smoking.

“We believe that our industry should be appropriately regulated. However, any regulation must be fair, proportionate and must strike a balance between pursuing public health policy objectives and at the same time allowing adults the freedom of choice to smoke and the right of retailers to display what is a legal product.

“We agree that children should not smoke and should be discouraged from doing so. We remain committed to proof-of-age programmes as the most effective way to stop children accessing cigarettes. We actively support retailers in enforcing the new minimum legal age of 18 for the sale of tobacco by means of age verification materials like CitizenCard and No ID No Sale. Penalties for retailers who sell to young people and stronger enforcement by Trading Standards officers are more effective ways to prevent underage sales than banning display at point of sale.

“If the Scottish Parliament wishes to explore these proposals we ask that they consult and engage with the tobacco industry and the retailers – who are aware, more than anyone, of the unintended consequences many of these actions may cause.”

The TMA positions on the other SPAP proposals are given below in the Notes to Editors.

- ENDS -

For further information please contact:

Zöe Walker, Manager Corporate Affairs
t: 020 7544 0115
m: 07790 060041
e: zwalker@the-tma.org.uk

Notes to Editors:

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 (gallaher-group.com), and Imperial Tobacco Ltd. (imperial-tobacco.com).

TMA Positions on each of the SPAP proposals:

• Governments that are proposing to regulate the display of tobacco products in the retail environment should ensure that they introduce measures which do not disproportionately impact on retailers, smokers and tobacco companies or have adverse unintended consequences such as increasing illicit trade.
• We do not support bans on the display of tobacco products, and will be engaging with the Scottish Parliament on their proposed regulation to restrict the display of tobacco products.
• Display of product is essential to enable adult consumers to make an informed choice based on availability, price and brand from the wide range of tobacco products.
• Display is necessary for fair and undistorted competition between manufacturers and between retailers.
• Display is also essential to the efficiency of the retailing process which is increasingly dependent on speeding up transaction times and reducing the need for extended verbal communication.
• Product display at point of sale rather than elsewhere on the premises is also necessary for security and retail efficiency reasons as tobacco is high value and the most requested FMCG product with approximately 11million smokers in the UK regularly buying tobacco products.^[i]
• Concealing tobacco products from view makes it easier for traders of smuggled product to blend it into the legal supply chain and could pose further challenges to the enforcement effort against such traders.

• We do not support proposals prohibiting the sale of packs less than 20 cigarettes as it removes an important element of adult consumer choice.
• These packs are primarily purchased by adult smokers who wish to control their daily consumption.
• Within the UK, 20.1% (which equates to 2.5million people) of the cigarette market comprises 10-pack sales. ^[ii]
• A ban on small packs is likely to encourage low-income smokers to seek cheaper, smuggled 20 packs (both genuine and counterfeit) from illegal sellers who do not demand proof of age. Our estimates show 27% of cigarettes and around 70% of handrolling tobacco consumed throughout the UK in 2007 were non-UK duty paid. Around 10% of this was counterfeit. Given the prevalence and availability of smuggled and counterfeit product in the UK ^[iii] we feel that it would be particularly unwise to prohibit 10-packs.
• In Ireland, a ban on 10-packs in 2007 was aimed at reducing tobacco consumption but research has shown that the average number of cigarettes smoked per day has risen from 16 before the ban to 17 since the ban. ^[iv]

• A negative licensing system, as favoured by Westminster, entails no extra cost or administrative burden for retailers and provides a swift and effective means of tackling both first time and persistently offending retailers without creating higher costs for all parties concerned.
• The TMA is a principal stakeholder in CitizenCard (citizencard.com), the UK’s leading proof-of-age scheme and the No ID No Sale (NINS: noidnosale.com) campaign operated by CitizenCard which promotes all PASS accredited (Government approved) Proof of Age / ID schemes. The key issue, whatever age people can buy cigarettes, is that retailers must be able to establish the age of any potential customer before a sale is made. The NINS campaign is active in more than 100,000 retailers nationwide and has created a culture in which young people expect to be asked to prove their age, and in which retailers accept only the correct forms of ID. This is essential as there is no statutory proof of age scheme in Scotland. The vast majority of retailers in Scotland are committed to upholding the law on age-related sales. The TMA is fully committed to youth access prevention.
• A retail licensing system does little to combat the counterfeiting or smuggling of tobacco products, as such products are primarily sold through illegal channels. We are concerned that this recommendation will not prevent under-age sales by illegal vendors as those who trade in smuggled and counterfeit cigarettes have no compunction about selling to minors.

• We do not support the prohibition of vending machines, which would not only prevent legitimate access by adult smokers, but also force the closure of many small businesses with consequent job losses.
• 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.

^[i] General Household Survey plus Continuous Household Survey (Northern Ireland) 2006

^[ii] RAL data in “Category Review 2007″

^[iii] HMRC estimate in 2005/06 NUKDP consumption lost them revenue of between £2.8 billion and £4.3 billion.

^[iv] Lansdowne Market Research: an annual sample of 14, 000 which was demographically representative of the Republic of Ireland population aged 18+.

“We shall be responding to the consultation in the full awareness that retailers do not want a positive licensing system to be introduced. We believe the vast majority of retailers in Scotland and throughout the UK are committed to upholding the law on age-related sales and that licensing, as proposed by Christine Grahame, would impose an additional burden of red tape on hard-pressed small businesses.

“The UK Government is on record as favouring a negative licensing system which we support[1]. Following the Government consultation on the introduction of licensing for tobacco products, Health Minister Ben Bradshaw stated: ‘The majority of respondents favoured the introduction of a negative licensing scheme…[and]…the Government now intends to bring forward legislation at the next first legislative opportunity’[2]. Any proposals relating to licensing should look at the consistency of existing enforcement systems, the most efficient way of managing them and the cost implications of any scheme for the majority of small businesses which retail tobacco. The TMA supports measures for consistent enforcement of verification across all jurisdictions.

“In the last survey conducted by Trading Standards in the year ending March 2005, three-fifths of local authorities with Trading Standards responsibilities reported using volunteer children under 16 in test purchase operations in 1,350 premises. It was found that 88% of retailers did not make underage sales. [3]

“The TMA is fully committed to youth access prevention. As an industry we make significant investments in programmes to support effective retailer engagement. The TMA is the principal stakeholder in CitizenCard, the UK-wide proof–of-age scheme that enables retailers to establish the age of their customers, and we also support the No ID No Sale (NINS) campaign which reinforces the culture of age verification.

“TMA member company representatives distributed NINS packs, updated to cover the 16 to 18 age increase, throughout the UK over the summer. The distinctive NINS poster is visible in retail outlets throughout the UK and hundreds of thousands of store staff are trained using NINS material which greatly assists them in asking for proof-of-age. In Scotland the Young Scot card provides a further means of checking age. The key issue is that retailers must be able to establish the age of any potential customer before a sale is made.”

Background:

• The TMA responded and supported the UK Government’s proposals to introduce negative licensing as part of the “Consultation on Under-Age of Sale of Tobacco” published in July 2006.
• The UK Government is now introducing an amendment to the Criminal Justice & Immigration Bill which will enable the enforcement of negative licensing of tobacco retailers in England and Wales (Committee Stage 20 November).

1. This press statement is issued on behalf of the TMA’s member companies: British American Tobacco, Gallaher Ltd and Imperial Tobacco Ltd.

2. About CitizenCard (http://www.citizencard.com/):

• CitizenCard is the UK’s largest photo-ID scheme.  The scheme is supported by Government, police, trading standards and retail groups.
• CitizenCard verifies applicants using a stringent authentication process and uses hologram-protected cards embedding a laser-etched colour photo to reduce the risk of forgery.
• CitizenCard is the only ID scheme available to the entire UK population to comply with the Home Office-backed PASS (Proof of Age Standards Scheme) criteria, externally audited by the Trading Standards Institute.

3. About No ID No Sale (www.noidnosale.com):

• The No ID No Sale campaign, launched in 2002, is positioned in more than 100,000 retailers nationwide and is aimed at creating a culture in which young people expect to be asked to prove their age, and in which retailers accept only the correct forms of ID.

“We believe that children should not smoke. Smoking is a matter of informed adult choice and it is for government to determine the legal age at which tobacco may be sold. We therefore support the decision that the Scottish Executive has made.

“However we strongly urge the Executive to ensure that a public awareness campaign is put in place and that sufficient enforcement resources are made available. This is essential, not only to ensure that the law is understood and complied with by legal traders but also to prevent sales to under-age children by illegal vendors. Those who trade in smuggled and counterfeit cigarettes have no compunction about selling to minors.”

Ends
For further information please contact:
Zöe Walker, Manager Corporate Affairs
t: 020 7544 0115
m: 07793 650296
f: 020 7544 0117
e: zwalker@the-tma.org.uk

Notes to Editors:
This press release is issued on behalf of the TMA’s principal member companies: Imperial Tobacco Ltd, Gallaher Ltd and British American Tobacco.
The TMA is fully committed to youth access prevention. As an industry we make significant investments in programmes to support effective retailer engagement. The key issue, whatever age people can buy cigarettes, is that retailers must be able to establish the age of any potential customer before a sale is made. To this end the TMA is a principal stakeholder in the CitizenCard proof of age scheme and the No ID No Sale (NINS) retailer education and communication programme. The distinctive NINS poster is visible in retail outlets throughout the UK and hundreds of thousands of store staff are trained using NINS material.
The TMA estimates that 27% of cigarettes and around 70% of hand rolling tobacco consumed throughout the UK in 2006 was non-UK duty paid. Around 10% of this was counterfeit.

One year on from the introduction of the smoking ban in enclosed public places, the Scottish public is overwhelmingly against extending them further, according to a new opinion poll conducted by Populus.

The findings of the new poll, conducted on behalf of The Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association, reveal that nine out of ten Scots think the restrictions introduced in March 2006 are either about right (68%) or go too far (22%), with only one in ten (9%) believing the ban does not go far enough.

When it comes to extending the ban, almost nine out of ten (87%) of those polled say it would be unreasonable to ban smoking in the home. There is also a big majority against banning smoking in private cars with three quarters (75%) saying it would be unreasonable. The majority of people in Scotland believe smokers should continue to be allowed to smoke in most open-air public spaces, outnumbering those not in favour by around two to one. For example, 69 per cent say it would be unreasonable to ban smoking in open-air parks compared with only 30 per cent who think it would be reasonable. Opinion is similarly split two to one against banning smoking on beaches, outside places of work, outside pubs and clubs and on public footpaths.

Opposition to further restrictions has also hardened recently, based on comparisons with a similar poll conducted by Populus last November. The latest results show that the net number of people who think banning smoking in the home is unreasonable has gone up from just over half the population to three quarters, a jump of 21 per cent. In the same four months, the net number thinking that banning smoking in private cars is unreasonable has jumped by 12%.

Chris Ogden, director of The Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association, commented on the results: “Having lived with the ban on smoking in public places for a year now, most people in Scotland, including non-smokers, are effectively saying ‘enough is enough’. There is clearly no popular demand for any further restrictions and we hope the Scottish Executive will take note”.

Ends

For further information contact:

Gill Silverman
Media and Information Manager
t: 020 7544 0108
m: 07712 530 436

Or

Jacqui Delbaere
Kaizo
e: jacqui.delbaere@kaizo.net
m: 07981 504468

Notes to Editors:

1. Other Key Statistics

88 per cent of those polled say that whether or not you smoke should make no difference to getting a job.
70 per cent say that being a smoker should make no difference to receiving medical treatment.
Almost half (47%) of the Scottish public thinks that tackling crime and anti-social behaviour should be the Scottish Executive’s top priority.
Amongst those who put public health second as a priority (36%), further restrictions on smoking are a very low priority compared with reducing poverty, improving housing conditions and reducing alcohol consumption
2. Full details of results can be downloaded here. This shows comparisons between the latest poll and the poll conducted in November 06 where the same questions were asked.

3. Populus interviewed a random sample in Scotland of 1,004 adults aged 18+ by telephone between 23 February and 26 February 2007. Results have been weighted to be representative of all adults in Scotland.

4. 24% of the sample smokes daily, 6% occasionally. 23% are ex-smokers, while 46% have never smoked. These rates accord with smoking prevalence rates for the UK as a whole.

For further information contact:
Gill Silverman
Media and Information Manager
Tel: 020 7544 0108
Mobile: 07712 530 436