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TOBACCO WILL BE KEPT OUT OF SIGHT IN SHOPS

News Release issued by the COI News Distribution Service on 14 October 2009

Another Step Closer to a Smoke Free Future

MPs have agreed further action to protect young people from the dangers of taking up smoking and to support smokers who are trying to quit.

At Report stage of the Health Bill in the Commons on Monday, MPs agreed the Government's proposals which mean that shops will no longer be allowed to promote tobacco in enticing multi-coloured displays. MPs also agreed to an amendment tabled by Ian McCartney MP to prohibit tobacco vending machines. The Government will take stock and consider how best to take this important policy forward.

Public Health Minister Gillian Merron said:

“Smoking continues to have a heavy impact on the health of our communities. Today’s children could be tomorrow’s smokers - these new plans will help to ensure they are not. Protecting young people from a lifetime of addiction and possible death and disease from smoking is crucial, as is supporting smokers who want to quit.

“The tobacco industry constantly recruits young people to replace those who give up smoking or die each year and the Government has a responsibility to find tobacco control policies that stop this from happening.”

The nuts and bolts of how the Government’s proposed new tobacco control laws will work in practice are now out for consultation. The Government is calling for views about key elements of the laws to make sure they are practical and affordable while still achieving the Government’s public health policy on combatting smoking.

The consultation gives people the opportunity to comment on the details of the proposed regulations. It asks for feedback on how proposals will work in practice, such as:

Keeping tobacco out of sight in shops but ensuring that shopkeepers are still able to serve their customers and are able to restock their shelves without breaking the new law.Displaying price lists so that shopkeepers can continue to trade efficiently - but making sure the lists don’t use branding or colours in ways that promote the products.

Gillian Merron said:

“Nobody benefits from impractical or expensive regulations. That’s why it’s vital that we get feedback from shopkeepers so we get it right.

“I have already met with retail organisations but it is important that we hear the views of all interested stakeholders so we can find the right balance.”

Two thirds of young people who have ever smoked in the UK started before they were 18. Since the advertising ban in 2002, evidence shows that the tobacco industry has instead invested in promotional displays of tobacco in shops. There is clear evidence these promotional activities encourage children to start smoking.

The Government is committed to reducing smoking rates, including reducing smoking uptake by young people. In the last decade, the number of people who smoke has dropped by almost 2.4 million, with prevalence falling from 28 per cent in 1998 to 21 per cent in 2007. However, more than 80,000 people still die from smoking related diseases every year in England alone, and it is the primary reason for the gap in healthy life expectancy between the rich and poor.

Notes to Editors

The Consultation on proposed tobacco control regulations for England (under the Health Bill 2009) can be found at www.dh.gov.uk

Contacts:

Department of Health
Phone: 020 7210 5221
NDS.DH@coi.gsi.gov.uk