You won't see these in shops after Thursday

Monday 27 October 2014

Shops selling tobacco will have to hide it away from Thursday when new laws banning display of cigarettes come into force.

The new rules do not bar the sale of tobacco, but they do mean that no one should be able to see it unless they ask to. That means that tobacco displays will have to be covered up until a customer asks to buy something from inside it.

Every shop selling tobacco products – cigarettes, cigars and rolling tobacco – will be covered by the new rules, including the duty free store at the Airport, which will have a separate area for tobacco displays.

Health say that the new rules, which were agreed by the States last year, will help to discourage smoking, particularly among young people.

Head of Health Improvement, Martin Knight said: “These regulations are the latest component of the States of Jersey Tobacco Control Strategy, working towards the aim of reducing smoking amongst adults and the up-take of smoking amongst young people.

“There is good evidence that gantry displays in shops with their strong branding can trigger purchases by adults trying to stop smoking, but the main reason for these changes is to protect children from this form of tobacco promotion.

“Children and young people are known to be particularly influenced by tobacco imagery, branding, and tobacco gantries increasing the perceived availability, and normalisation of tobacco products.”

The Environmental Health team will be helping retailers comply with the new rules – they say that they have made them as simple as possible, and want to try to resolve problems informally before taking any action under the new law.