Government knows tobacco display ban won't work

Individual retailers who sell tobacco through their specialist stores, dairies and convenience stores are being forced to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars to achieve a “public health objective” that Cabinet has been told won’t work.

The Association of Community Retailers today spoke to the Parliamentary Health Select Committee in favour of its submission against outlawing tobacco displays. The Committee is considering the effects of the proposed legislation on the public and retailers.

ACR Spokesman Richard Green said it made no sense forcing onto retailers the high cost of refitting their stores and the huge inconvenience and probable security risks to comply with the proposed changes. “The paper considered by Cabinet says banning displays is unlikely to result in a drop in smoking in society. And yet the Maori Party and the Ministry of Health seem intent on putting retailers not only to the expense of refitting their stores, but also a huge inconvenience, especially in how they dispense the product.”

Mr Green told the Committee it could personally cost his business around $21,000 to comply with a ban on tobacco products by the time he restructured his three tobacconist shops. Smaller retailers would be looking at up to a few thousand dollars to refit their stores. “This is something that retailers can least afford. We’ve recently had the Saving Working Group report to the Finance Minister that Kiwis need to save more money. But on the other hand, the Government is asking retailers to spend money on something the Ministry of Health knows won’t work. It’s madness,” he said.

Health Select Committee members are under the mistaken belief that the tobacco companies will pay for re-fitting stores. But those companies have said they won’t pay for having their products hidden from their consumers.

The ACR submission to the Committee also says specialist tobacco retailers should be exempt from the proposed changes because they sell predominantly tobacco products that can only be bought by adults over 18 years of age. “When you enter a tobacconist, you’ve already made the decision to smoke and you intend to buy tobacco.”

Cabinet Decision can be found here: http://acr.org.nz/documents/concerns/Cabinet%20Paper%20to%20Ban%20Tobacco%20Displays.pdf

ACR submission to the Health Select Committee can be found here: http://acr.org.nz/documents/concerns/ACR%20Smokefree%20Amendment%20Bill%20Submission%2028%20January%202011.pdf

ENDS

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