18/06/2009 - Concern over tobacco display ban
More than three in four corner shopkeepers are afraid their businesses will be badly hit by a ban on tobacco displays in store, research shows.
A study for the Tobacco Retailers Alliance (TRA) found that as many as 90% of retailers felt the Government had not listened to their worries about the display ban.
The TRA represents 26,000 independent UK shopkeepers and is funded by the Tobacco Manufacturers' Association.
TRA spokesman Ken Patel, a shopkeeper from Leicester, said: "This survey demonstrates what we retailers have been saying for months: a ban on tobacco displays will put many independent shopkeepers out of business.
"That's just what has happened in Canada, where 23 convenience stores in Ontario and 12 in Quebec closed every week after bans were introduced there."
Of the 1,000 retailers surveyed, almost three in five (58%) were aware of adults buying tobacco in their shops in order to give to underage youngsters.
John Abbott, a shopkeeper in Darlington, said: "Instead of banning displays, the Government should be making it illegal for adults to buy tobacco on behalf of those under 18."
Copyright © Press Association 2009
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