Trading Standards Information and Advice: The end of tobacco displays

As of the 6th April 2012 a new law regarding the display of tobacco in shops will be introduced and will have the following effect :

Supermarkets and other large shops will no longer have cigarettes and other tobacco products on display, except when serving customers or other tasks where the tobacco will have to be revealed.

Anyone going to buy cigarettes may be asked for ID because staff will no longer be allowed to show cigarettes or other tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 years of age.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Tobacco price lists will also have changes as they now have to be in a plain format with no tobacco branding on them.

The law is being introduced to reduce the amount of young people who are encouraged by these displays to try smoking and also to help adults who are trying to quit.

Over 80,000 people die from smoking every year and more people die of smoking than any other preventable cause, each year alone in England 320,000 children under 16 years of age try smoking.

Removing these tobacco displays is one initiative to reduce the uptake of smoking amongst young people and to support adults who are trying to quit, these government plans are set out in “Healthy lives, Healthy People: A Tobacco Control Plan for England”.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

All Shops will have to change but smaller shops will not have to cover up their cigarettes and tobacco products until 6th April 2015, This is because the government are trying to help small businesses by having a three year freeze on new regulations for them.

To find out more visit www.dh.gov.uk

Related topics: