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Tobacco Display Ban Decision Damaging for Small Shops
27 January 2010
John Drummond, Chief Executive of the Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF) has expressed disappointment at the outcome of the tobacco display ban vote.
John Drummond said:
“SGF agrees with the Scottish Government that young people should not smoke and should be actively discouraged from doing so. However, we believe there are better ways of achieving this than banning the display of tobacco in small shops. The evidence that a display ban affects smoking rates is weak.
“Making it an offence for a person under the age of 18 to attempt to purchase tobacco and criminalising the purchase of tobacco by an adult on behalf of a child, sends out a strong message to the public and we believe will assist in creating a culture change.
“We remain convinced the combined effects of these deterrents, together with the increase in the legal age to purchase tobacco from 16 to 18 and effective measures to tackle the illegal trade in communities, would have made the display ban unnecessary.
“It is still unclear from the draft regulations and the Bill how retailers should store tobacco in order to comply with the display ban. However, if Ministers’ preferred solution goes ahead, Scotland will have more restrictive and inflexible regulations than England.
“The technical challenges in fitting a solution to existing units to meet the Ministers’ demands could be extremely challenging and prohibitively expensive for small retailers.
“SGF is concerned a ban is more likely to increase young people’s fascination in tobacco.”
Costs of a Tobacco Display Ban Remain Unanswered
26 January 2010
The Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF) has criticised Scottish Government Ministers ahead of the Stage 3 debate on the Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Bill (27th Jan 2009) for asking MSPs to support a tobacco display ban despite there still being no accurate estimate of the cost of compliance.
SGF Chief Executive John Drummond said: “A tobacco display ban would impose a substantial regulatory burden on retailers yet it is still unclear from both the Bill and the draft regulations how tobacco should be stored to comply with the display ban.
“The Minister has proposed regulations that are the most draconian of their type anywhere in the world, yet suggests to MSPs that a storage solution could cost as little as £20 for materials. SGF believe it is misleading for the Government to continue to refer to £20 when they accept that it referred only to the cost of materials per shelf and not per gantry.
“Once design, durable materials, professional fitting, store disruption, sustainable disposal methods and staffing costs are considered we fear the true cost of implementing a display ban will rise significantly, back in the direction of the Government’s official estimate.
“The tobacco display ban is a policy gimmick that will impose costs and disruption on retailers at the worst possible time. The evidence that this will actually stop young people smoking just isn’t there.”
Mr Drummond has welcomed the Scottish Government’s decision to amend the Bill to make it an offence both for a person under the age of 18 to attempt to purchase tobacco and for an adult to purchase tobacco on behalf of a child: “We remain convinced that proper deterrents to those that are complicit in giving tobacco to children together with effective measures to tackle the illicit trade and increased education would be more effective than a display ban.”
SGF Welcomes UK Government Announcement on Grocery Ombudsman
13 January 2010
The Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF) has welcomed the UK Government’s announcement that a Grocery Ombudsman will be established to enforce the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP).
The establishment of an Ombudsman was one of the recommendations made by the Competition Commission following their Grocery Market Inquiry. Consultation on the shape and powers of the body will commence next month.
John Drummond, Chief Executive of SGF, said,
“Without an independent Ombudsman, the new GSCOP, which comes into force in February, would have been ineffective.
“I hope this announcement will introduce a culture change within the major supermarkets and an acknowledgment that they must be open and transparent in their supplier dealings.
“This announcement will protect the interests of consumers, the food industry and suppliers.”
Conservatives Support Creation of Grocery Ombudsman
5 January 2010
Commenting on the announcement by Nick Herbert MP, Conservative Shadow Environment Minister, confirming Conservative Party support for a Grocery Ombudsman, John Drummond, Chief Executive of the Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF) said;
“The establishment of a Grocery Ombudsman was one of the recommendations announced by the Competition Commission following their inquiry into the grocery market. However, the Government’s delay over the recommendations has enabled the supermarkets to continue to use practices in their supplier dealings that were found to be to the detriment of consumers.
“I welcome this announcement. Without a Grocery Ombudsman the Grocery Suppliers Code of Practice is toothless.”
Scottish Grocers Federation