The Association of Convenience Stores has launched a new awareness campaign to help retailers, colleagues and consumers with incoming rules on age verification for tobacco products.
The Decline09 campaign, backed by leading retailers and the Chartered Institute for Trading Standards, has been developed in consultation with the Department for Health and Social Care.
Download the Decline09 Asset Pack here
On 1st January 2027, measures introduced in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill are set to come into force which will mean that anyone born on or after 1st January 2009 will be unable to ever legally purchase tobacco products.
The change marks the first time that an age restricted sales policy has worked on the basis of checking against a single date, rather than checking whether a person is above a prescribed age on the day of purchase.
The Decline09 campaign acts as a reminder to colleagues that if someone is born in 2009 or later, they must decline the sale of tobacco.
As part of the campaign, ACS has put together a one-page guide on the actions that retailers need to do to prepare. This includes replacing the mandatory age of sale notice on January 1st and training colleagues on the new rules.
ACS has also produced social media assets and in-store posters that retailers can utilise to communicate the change in legislation when it comes into force in January.
Unauthorised reproduction of the Decline09 logo and associated assets is strictly prohibited. For more information, please refer to the Decline09 brand guidelines document, available here.
