News story

Tobacco displays in supermarkets to be removed by 6 April

Large shops will no longer be able to display tobacco products to the public from 6 April 2012.

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

There are just 100 days to go before removal of all display material.

Customers will still be able to buy cigarettes in the usual way but the Government is ending tobacco displays to protect young people who are often the target of tobacco promotion.  Ending open cigarette displays will help people trying to quit smoking and help to change attitudes and social norms around smoking.

Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies said:

‘Smoking kills more than 80,000 people in England each year – making it one of the biggest preventable causes of premature death.’

‘We cannot ignore the fact that young people are recruited into smoking by tobacco promotion. Two thirds of smokers say they were already regular smokers before they turned 18.  More than 300,000 children under 16 try smoking each year. Ending tobacco displays in shops will protect young people from unsolicited promotions, helping them resist the temptation to start smoking. It will also help and support adults who are trying to quit.’

The tobacco display provisions in the Health Act 2009 and related regulation will be implemented for large shops from April 2012 and for all other shops from April 2015.

Published 29 December 2011