Cigarette display ban delayed several years

Published on Sunday 15 January 2012 00:00

THE ban on the display of tobacco products in large stores could be delayed for as long as three years due to legal wrangles with tobacco manufacturers, the Scottish Government has admitted.

Public health minister Michael Matheson said the government had been forced to put back the original launch date for larger retailers of 1 April this year – but said today that it hoped to bring in the ban in all stores within three years. An exact date will be finalised in due course. Smaller shops already had a later start date of 1 April 2015 to give retailers time to prepare.

The ban, which will now be introduced in the same year as similar laws in England, will make it an offence for retailers to display tobacco or smoking related products.

The government also revealed that retailers will be able to access tobacco products through a window measuring no more than 1,000 cm sq – about the size of eight to 12 cigarette packets – and confirmed that shopkeepers who breach the ban would face a £200 fine – rising by a further £200 for every offence committed under the legislation within a two year period.

“Combined with the range of other measures set out in the Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Act 2010, this will make cigarettes less attractive and accessible to young people,” said Matheson. “We recognise some retailers had concerns about the practicalities of limiting display size during a sale. We listened and believe we have now struck an appropriate balance between making cigarettes less attractive and retailers’ views.

“Following these discussions and bearing in mind the need to notify new regulations to the EU and the fact of the ongoing legal proceedings, we feel it prudent to defer the ban from the original implementation date for large stores to a date to be announced.”

Vicky Crichton, public affairs manager at Cancer Research UK, said: “Displaying cigarettes next to ordinary groceries can encourage young people to take up smoking, a deadly habit that is the biggest preventable cause of cancer. Putting tobacco products out of sight will stop children being tempted to buy cigarettes and help to protect future generations from a lethal addiction.”