Guidance for Business on the Introduction of Tobacco Banning Orders
The Government has published its Guidance for businesses on the introduction of Tobacco Banning Orders. These orders will be introduced on the 1 April 2009, and mean that any retailer caught selling tobacco three times in a two year period to a person under the age of 18, could face a ban of up to a year.
Of the three offences, only one has to be a criminal conviction. Therefore a written warning or a caution would count as the other two. There are two types of restrictions a magistrate could place on a business, and a retailer could face both:
• Restricted Premises Order - When tobacco is prohibited from being sold from a specific premises for up to a year
• Restricted Sales Order - When a specific person is prohibited from selling or supervising the sale of tobacco for up to one year.
A year ban is the most extreme length and is only intended to be used in a minority of cases.
Although offences committed before the 1st April will not count towards the order, they will be used as intelligence for target-led test purchases. Money has been made available in the Trading Standards budget for test purchasing campaigns so now more than ever retailers need to be vigilant by firmly enforcing the Challenge 25 policy.
To read the Guidance please click here: Tobacco Banning Orders - Guidance for Retailers