Press release - 9 December 2008

Johnson stubs out recruitment of young smokers

Plans were laid today to remove cigarette displays in shops and prevent underage access to vending machines, putting children and young people at the forefront of the next tobacco control strategy.

This will mean removing cigarette displays in shops and preventing underage access to vending machines, putting children and young people at the forefront of the next tobacco control strategy.

Over 96,000 responses were received to the Department of Health’s consultation on the future of tobacco control – the largest ever response to a consultation of this kind.

Responses overwhelmingly supported removing tobacco displays in shops, and tough action to restrict access to vending machines. Since the ban on tobacco advertising, retail displays in shops are the main way in which tobacco products are marketed to children. These measures will be taken forward in primary legislation through the Health Bill in the next parliamentary session.

Over eight in ten adults in Great Britain who have ever smoked regularly say that they started before they were 19. In England in 2007, nearly 200,000 children aged between 11-15 years of age were regular smokers. These children are 3 times more likely to die of cancer due to smoking than someone who starts in their mid-20s.

Health Secretary, Alan Johnson, said:

“Enticing multi-coloured displays encourage young people to start smoking – we must put a stop to this. Smoking is a habit which is hard to break and causes 87,000 deaths a year in England alone.

“Protecting children from smoking is our goal. My hope is that shops will use this opportunity to promote healthier goods to their customers.”

Point of sale displays have already been removed in a number of countries including Canada. Comprehensive results compiled by the Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey shows that removing point of sale display has coincided with a fall in smoking prevalence rates amongst 15 to 19 year olds – from 29 per cent in 2002 to 19 per cent in 2007.

There is no evidence that stores have had to close as a result of removing displays in either Iceland or in Canada. Evidence from Canada suggests the costs of refitting stores could be as low as £550 per store. The Government will work with trade bodies, provide support and ample lead-in time for compliance to minimise any burden on business – regulations will come into force from October 2011 for larger shops, and for smaller businesses not until 2013.

Key elements of the consultation included:

Controls on tobacco displays in shops - 95,488 responses (84 per cent in favour):

The new powers will remove cigarette displays in shops which promote smoking to young people, prompt impulse purchases of cigarettes and undermine smokers’ efforts to quit.
Since tobacco advertising was banned in 2002, retail displays have been the main source of marketing to young people by tobacco firms.
Displays encourage unplanned purchases of tobacco, increasing sales by an estimated 12-28 per cent.
Where other countries have removed displays smoking prevalence among young people has fallen by up to 10 per cent.
Iceland and Canada have not seen shops close as a result of removing tobacco displays.
Government will work closely with retailers to develop regulations setting out detailed requirements. We will aim to ensure this does not place unnecessary costs or burdens on the retail industry, and that there is ample lead-in time before any legislation is commenced to support businesses to prepare, allowing extra time for smaller businesses.

Preventing easy access from vending machines - 82,722 responses (90 per cent in favour)

Powers will be sought to require age restrictions to limit easy access to young people and to remove machines altogether if they continue to provide cigarettes to people underage.
Vending machines, which may appear harmless, are actually the primary source of cigarettes for nearly 1 in 5 young people aged 11 to 15, compared to 1 in 17 adults.
Recent test purchase surveys have shown that children were able to buy cigarettes from machines in over 40 per cent of cases, and up to 100 per cent in some areas

Other elements of the consultation were:

Plain packaging. Whilst support was clear for the idea of plain tobacco packaging to prevent promotion of tobacco products, the evidence base needs to be developed. The Government has committed to keep this under review and build on the evidence before taking further action.

Restrictions on the advertising and promotion of tobacco accessories, such as cigarette papers. Whilst there was strong support for such restrictions we need more evidence that this measure will effect behavioural change before taking action.

Pack sizes – 20s not 10s. Two thirds of respondents to the consultation were against the proposal. The most common reason cited against was that it could encourage smokers, particularly those who are giving up, to smoke more.

Harm reduction – helping those who ‘can’t quit’. Around 80 per cent of respondents are in favour of a harm reduction approach based on medicinal nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). We will consider this matter further, establishing what more can be done for our new tobacco control strategy.