Tobacco display ban spells end for small shops

Published by Hannah Wooderson for 24dash.com in Central Government

Retailers have expressed anger over Government plans to ban the display of tobacco in shops, claiming it could see thousands of small shops suffer loss of trade, that it will do nothing to curb youth smoking, and that the Government had broken its promise on helping small businesses through the economic downturn.

Banning the display of tobacco in shops will have a negative impact on small business in five ways:

• the initial financial cost of compliance estimated at £2,000 to £5,000 per shop;
• the displacement of sales to supermarkets;
• worsening the already significant black market in tobacco products;
• undermining retail efficiency; and
• threatening shop security.

Pre-recession estimates suggested that 2,600 businesses will cease to be profitable if forced to operate in this way.

The Department for Health has been heavily criticised for failing to present enough evidence to prove that hiding tobacco out of sight does reduce youth smoking.

Displays of tobacco were prohibited in Iceland in 2001, but youth smoking rates were not impacted. Even the ‘Future of Tobacco Control’ consultation paper admits that the supporting evidence ‘is not conclusive.’

The Department was also criticised for not taking sufficient steps to positively include Asian retailers in the important consultation process, a complaint the Equality and Human Rights Commission is investigating. 75% of British retailers are Asian, many of whom do not speak English as their first language.

Ken Patel, an independent retailer from Leicester and National Spokesman for the Tobacco Retailers Alliance, said: “The announcement today is disappointing to say the least. From the start of this consultation we have seen that the views of retailers and the impact on small businesses just do not matter to the Government. There have been no efforts to include us in a decision that will have an enormous impact on our businesses.”

“Make no mistake; this has little to do with youth smoking. If the Government were serious about that, they would make it illegal for adults to buy tobacco for minors, as we shopkeepers have campaigned for.

“This display ban is nothing more than a gimmick so that the Government can get a few headlines. There is no evidence to suggest this would work – it is an experiment at the expense of our businesses.”

“My counter is not big enough to keep my tobacco range, so I will have to get a new counter and position it differently in my shop. We’re talking about a major refurbishment job costing me around £10,000. The banks aren’t lending to small businesses – where am I meant to get that level of investment from?

“I can’t even sell my shop because nobody would get a mortgage for a small business at this time. The Government promised to help small businesses through the economic downturn – this shows it was just empty rhetoric.”