Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Bill - Displays
What
The Bill will ban the display of tobacco. Trade-to-trade wholesalers will be exempt, whilst specialist tobacconists will continue to be able to display all tobacco products other than cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco.
When
The displays ban will come into effect in 2011 for larger retailers and 2013 for small retailers. This long lead in time will minimise costs to businesses, particularly small businesses, by allowing them to refit their shop as part of planned refurbishments.
Why
The tobacco displays ban will reduce youth smoking by reducing the attractiveness of tobacco to children and young people.
Despite tobacco advertising being banned, marketing of tobacco products persists through prominent display at the point of sale in thousands of supermarkets, newsagents and petrol stations.
Visible displays of tobacco have been found to affect a young person's perceptions about the ease of access to cigarettes and about brand recall, both factors that increase the risk of taking up smoking.
Having tobacco sitting in the pride of place in a shop sends out the wrong message to children that smoking is "normal" and common practice, the complete opposite to the attitudes of most Scottish people.
Consultation
Of those who responded to the Scottish consultation on tobacco displays back in 2007, 75 per cent were in favour of an outright ban. In response to the more recent Department of Health consultation on displays, 85 per cent of the 95,000 respondents were in favour of banning displays.
Costs
The Scottish Government will fund a marketing campaign to inform retailers on how to comply with the legislation. It is estimated that this will cost around £350,000.
There are no costs associated with this provision for local government.
Tobacco retailers have had full opportunity to feed into a regulatory impact assessment on proposals and the Scottish Government will continue to engage with retailers to ensure that there is the minimum impact on business.
Estimates provided by Scottish tobacco retailers have ranged from £900 for a newsagent up to £25,000 for a major supermarket. However, these estimates are likely to be at the upper end of costs and do not include innovative, more cost effective solutions. In Canada, for example, a solution has been found for only £550 per store.
Background
The advertising ban has been a success in reducing overall awareness of tobacco promotion and branding amongst young people. Some studies have shown that retail tobacco marketing resulted in a 50 per cent increase in the odds of ever smoking amongst young people. In addition to having a powerful effect on young people, visible displays of tobacco within shops have been shown to act as cues to smoke, including those not intending to buy cigarettes and those trying to avoid smoking.
Source: Cancer Research UK Point of Sale report