Tobacco Displays are Going to be Banned
The Government has announced tha it is going to put a ban on the open display of tobacco products in shops.
It is expected that plans for an outright ban on tobacco vending machines and branding on cigarette packets have been scrapped.
Critics say that the moves do not go far enough to stop young people smoking.
Deborah Arnott, director of the anti-smoking group ASH, supported the ban and said that a ban on the display of tobacco products at point of sale would be “a proportionate response to the death and disease caused by tobacco”.
The British Heart Foundation says a total ban on vending machines is the only way to prevent children accessing cigarettes.
Vending machines are the source of cigarettes for nearly one in five young smokers aged 11 to 15 – some 46,000 children.
A British Heart Foundation spokeswoman said: “When the government announces further steps on tobacco control we expect nothing less than a robust tobacco control plan which includes a total ban on cigarette vending machines.
“We are concerned about the large number of children being able to access cigarettes without a face to face transaction.”
The Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association opposes the cigarette display ban and says it could have serious unintended consequences, such as driving the sale of illicit tobacco.
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