15/04/2010 - Plans for cigarette display ban
In a bid to stop children from taking up smoking, corner shops and supermarkets will be banned from having tobacco displays if proposals from the Welsh Assembly Government are approved.
The plans would see the bans come into effect next year for corner shops and two years later for supermarkets. There will be exemptions for specialist tobacconists, on the proviso their products on display are not visible from outside the shop.
Under the proposals, cigarette vending machines would also be banned. The ban on smoking in public places has been in operation for three years.
Shopkeepers will be allowed to use price lists to help them serve customers.
Ministers plan to introduce the regulations at the same time as the rest of the UK, subject to a three-month consultation which ends on July 6.
The ban on vending machines would begin in October 2011 at the same time as the new rules on displays in small shops. Bigger businesses are expected to be included in October 2013.
Health Minister Edwina Hart said: "The Welsh Assembly Government's aim is to protect children and young people from the very serious risks of smoking, while ensuring that the regulations are workable and cost-effective in practice."
Copyright © Press Association 2010
Related links
|
