ACS

27 April 2010

Conservative Shadow Health Minister Mike Penning has reiterated his party’s concerns over the tobacco display ban. In response to the news that three tobacco companies and two retail representatives have launched a judicial review into the display ban regulations, he said:

“I know that many responsible retailers will feel their views haven’t been taken into account over the Government’s ban on cigarette displays. The need to reduce the number of smokers in this country is clear, but I do not think it can be right to impose additional risk and burdens on shops to introduce a measure for which evidence is lacking. I am not a lawyer but I have always been concerned whether the Government’s legislation on this is legal. Therefore a challenge by way of a Judicial Review seems a sensible thing to do."

"My Party, if elected, would bring the Government’s proposals back before Parliament, but with a crucial difference – we would give a free vote for Conservatives. Labour pushed the ban through by imposing the strongest possible obligation on its MPs to vote in favour of the plans. By contrast I believe that elected representatives should be able to vote according to their consciences. At the same time as revisiting the ban itself, we would look again at meaningful alternatives to reduce smoking rates including a ban on proxy purchasing and stronger measures on tobacco smuggling.”

The Courts will now have to decide whether to accept the judicial review, a process which could take three months.