Press release
Good to tackle ‘pathetic' enforcement of underagecigarette sales law but don't expect miracles
Asthe government moves to crack down on retailers that sell cigarettes to kids,ASH highlighted the ‘pathetic' level of enforcement of the law in thisarea. A 1999
“This is anarea where the law is routinely broken and some disreputable retailers turn ablind eye. The law is so weak that itdoesn't actually require local authorities to enforce it, merely to report onwhat they have done even if that is nothing at all.”
“At the moment, some rogue shopkeepers can make goodprofits by selling illegally to children reasonably confident that it's aone-way bet and detection and prosecution is a very remote risk. Hopefully, this will shift the odds and makeit less attractive to sell cigarettes to kids.”
ButASH warned the government not to expect tighter enforcement of the law to leadto a big drop in teenage smoking:
“If they are determined to smoke, teenagers willfind cigarettes somehow, perhaps by having an older friend do the buying,perhaps by stealing, or even by finding the one retailer still notdeterred. A crackdown at the local shopmight mean an informal playground market develops where young kids buy fromolder kids,” said Bates.
ASHemphasised that the enforcement protocol had to be seen in the context of thebroad package of measures aimed at reducing the pressure to smoke. The more important side of the government'stobacco strategy is to reduce demand among teenagers rather thaninterrupt supply. This means theemphasis should be on banning tobacco advertising and marketing, raising theprice through taxation, help for people (kids and adults) who want to quit andraising awareness through good TV campaigns.
“If kids want to smoke, then nothing much will stopthem. The key is to stop them wantingit so badly by making smoking seem much less appealing. The best approach is to ban tobaccoadvertising, keep the price high and have good anti-tobacco advertisingcampaigns that aren't patronising and make sense to teenagers,” said Bates.
“To influence young teenagers, you probably need totarget the twenty-somethings and other adults because smoking is about wantingto grow up. These are the role modelsfor teenagers and if they are turning away from smoking it will have a greaterimpact on the kids than telling them that smoking is an adult-only activity,which might actually make it more appealing,” said Bates.
[1]Action on Smoking and Health, Enforcement action to reduce underage tobaccosales, March 1999
PressContact: Amanda Sandford or Clive Bates 020 7739 5902 (w) 0468 791 237 (m)
