Tobacco faces display ban

Tougher tobacco laws being considered by the Government could mean cigarettes will have to be hidden from sight in dairies and supermarkets.

Current restrictions allow a maximum of 100 cigarettes and 40 cartons to be on show but the Health Ministry is proposing a total display ban.

The Cancer Society supports the ban but some local retailers are not happy.

Maungakaramea service station owner John McKinney says it will be inconvenient having to reconfigure his shop to put cigarettes under the counter or in a place not visible to customers.

"If they’re hidden, someone might come in and ask for a brand we don’t have in stock and then they’ll ask what other brands we have and we won’t be able to physically show them. I think it’s a load of rubbish."

Jan Webb, worker at Parua Bay Four Square, agrees the new restrictions could be a hassle.

The outlet stores cigarettes behind a shutter door which they can open for each customer.

"Our cigarettes are visible for a few seconds and that’s the best way of doing things," she says.

"I don’t know how you would be able to serve people if they were completely out of sight."

But Ms Webb does not feel as strongly about the issue as Mr McKinney, who recently signed a petition against the proposals.

The petition was organised by a coalition of more than 50 retailers nationwide called Stay Displays.

The group argues the restrictions are an attack on the rights of retailers and will have the greatest impact on small, family-owned businesses.

The Cancer Society has collected 20,000 signatures for a petition.

Belinda Hughes, tobacco control spokesperson for the society, says the Government consultation paper comes on the back of recent evidence that tobacco displays make it harder for smokers to quit.

She cites new Australian research which shows 38 percent of smokers who tried to quit in the last year had an urge to buy cigarettes as a result of retail displays.

The new restrictions might not only help those trying to quit but also discourage young people from starting.

The consultation paper does have a youth focus, says Asspciate Health minister Damien O’Connor.

"Retail displays are now the only place where many young people are exposed to significant quantities of tobacco products and it is timely that the law around tobacco display is reviewed."

Public submissions close February 15.

- © Fairfax NZ News