SPRING 2015 Tobacco going dark Smaller shops must cover cigarette displays from 6 April 2015 Tobacco it has now been three years since large shops were required to cover their displays of hand-rolling tobacco and cigarettes. now, the deadline for smaller shops is imminent. From 6 april 2015, under the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Regulations 2002, all tobacco will need to be concealed using shutters, doors or other methods. Hopefully, your plans are in place to enable compliance from day one. if not, you need to hurry. tobacco suppliers will not assist all retailers in this, so find out immediately from your local representative whether they will help you. PERMITTED PRICE DISPlAyS the on rs lick be Cm nu tobacco products can be displayed temporarily in some circumstances: l Following requests to buy or view tobacco by customers over18 l in specified circumstances by bulk tobacconists or specialisttobacconists l Following a request by an enforcement officer l incidental displays while staff are: restocking; assessing stock levels; cleaning; maintaining or refurbishing the storage unit; or undertaking stafftraining if you currently use a till prompt when a product is scanned to check a customers age, it will be too late an illegal display will already have taken place. So you are advised to make sure you follow a Challenge 25 (or similar) procedure before you select the product. all staff will need to be trained to do this. Price lists and labels for tobacco products must be in the format set out by law. the only information that can be given is the brand name and price of the product, though for cigars you can also include country of origin, dimension and size, and for pipe tobacco you can include the cut and type of tobacco used. all information displayed must use Helvetica plain font. non-tobacco products must not be stored alongside the restricted tobacco products. Poster-style lists (up to A3 size) can be permanently on show Tobacco suppliers will not assist all retailers in this, so find out immediately from your local rep whether they will help you A list, including pictures of products that must not be on permanent display, can be shown to any customer aged 18 or over who asks forinformation fIND OUT MORE Helpful advice can be found at the Business Companion website or from the Association of Convenience Stores. Your local Trading Standards officers will also be more than happy to help you comply. Price labels are permitted for each product, either on the covered shelf or on the front of the storage unit Credits: Brandon Cook images: iconic Bestiary / Shutterstock
