GOVERNMENT TOBACCO PROPOSALS WILL HURT LOCAL BUSINESS
December 16, 2008 9:56 AM
Solihull's MP and Liberal Democrat Shadow Business Minister Lorely Burt today slammed government proposals to ban the open display of tobacco products in shops.
This week the government released results of a consultation on the control of tobacco sales which recommends that tobacco products should be kept under the counter.
Mrs Burt argues that the proposals would be damaging to small businesses and would not tackle the problem of children smoking.
Lorely said:
"The government's proposals would hurt newsagents and local convenience shops where the sale of tobacco products constitute 20-30% of the shop's takings.
"This would pass on the cost of modifying tobacco displays to shop owners and reduce trade as they struggle to survive in the recession.
"The proposals may also lead to an increase in theft from small businesses due to shop owners being distracted as they retrieve tobacco products from under the counter.
"There is also a danger that the government's plans will lead to an increase in the sale of foreign tobacco imports. This illicit trade costs the taxpayer almost £3 billion a year in lost VAT and excise duty, are of inferior quality and present a serious health risk to consumers and targets underage people.
"The government's proposals are a missed opportunity as they do not deal with the problem that, unlike alcohol, it is not illegal to procure tobacco for under 18's. We need to protect children from smoking and the government's proposals fail to recognise this very serious problem.
"The right balance needs to be found between helping small businesses during the economic downturn and to prevent children being encouraged to start smoking. The government's response though is disproportionate to the problem and would hurt small businesses, would encourage illegal tobacco sales and would fail to discourage children from smoking."
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