Youth access prevention

Media statement:

• Smoking is a matter of informed adult choice. Children should not smoke and should be discouraged from doing so.
• It is now illegal in the UK to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18. The key issue is for retailers to establish age at point-of-sale before they allow a purchase to be made, accompanied by an effective enforcement regime.
• The TMA is a principal stakeholder in CitizenCard (www.citizencard.com), the UK’s leading proof-of-age scheme with nearly 2 million cards issued. The TMA initiated and is the primary funder of the ‘No ID No Sale’ campaign (NINS) (www.noidnosale.com) campaign operated by CitizenCard.
• The NINS campaign has engaged more than 100,000 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.

‘Third of Smokers Don’t Know Legal Minimum Age of Sale for Tobacco products’
Friday, October 1, 2010

Urgent action needed to tackle underage sales and tobacco smuggling
Friday, September 11, 2009

Increase in the Age of Sale for Tobacco Products
Sunday, September 9, 2007

Tobacco Manufacturers Tackle Under-age Sales with New Campaign
Friday, January 23, 2004