ACS

Ministers are planning the most costly and disruptive tobacco display ban of its type in the world if they implement draft regulations published on Monday, say ACS. These plans were unveiled a few hours before the crucial parliamentary debate on the issue on October 12th.

The Government has published a consultation that sets out what a retailer would have to do to implement the new law banning tobacco displays. In it the Government will require retailers to fit doors or flaps that only allow an area slightly larger than a sheet of A3 paper to be seen by a customer when they are being served tobacco. This would mean that a typical small shop would be required to fit at least 20 separate doors or flaps to their existing unit.

In the Health Bill Report Stage Debate the Government defeated an opposition attempt to remove the tobacco display ban from the proposed Health Bill in a whipped vote.

ACS Chief Executive James Lowman said: “The Minister has proposed regulations that are the most inflexible of their type anywhere in the world. It makes a mockery of the repeated reassurances that Ministers have made to Parliament and businesses that they will take a light touch approach to compliance.”

Government’s official estimate is that the cost of compliance will be £1000 per store, although Ministers have repeatedly suggested to MPs and media that the cost would be much lower for smaller stores. Mr Lowman continued: “The technical challenges in fitting a solution to existing units that meet the Ministers’ demands could be insurmountable. This would mean retailers having to rip out and replace existing units and the costs will be far higher than previously suggested.”

Mr Lowman also questioned the evidence for why such an approach was necessary: “The evidence that a display ban affects smoking rates is weak, but there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that a tiny permitted display area during transactions is necessary for the policy to succeed.

“ACS will make a strong case to Government that sets out how damaging their proposed approach to regulations is.”

Mr Lowman also expressed disappointment at the outcome of the tobacco display ban vote: “We remain convinced that if MPs were presented with credible alternatives to this measure such as proper deterrents to those that are complicit in giving tobacco to children and effective measures to tackle the illegal trade in communities, they would agree that the display ban is unnecessary."