8th May, 2013 - Following the Queen’s Speech, Debbie Corris, a Whitstable retailer and the National Spokeswoman for the Tobacco Retailers' Alliance (TRA), commented:

“We welcome that the Queen’s Speech had no reference to the introduction of the plain packaging of tobacco. There is still no credible evidence that introducing plain packaging would stop young people from taking up smoking. Everyone knows that young people take up smoking because of peer pressure or because a family member already smokes. Young people want to rebel and do what they shouldn’t do. Plain packaging would not change this.”

25 April, 2013 - Scotland’s shopkeepers have expressed disappointment as the country prepares to introduce a ban on the display of tobacco in large shops on Monday (29 April). The Tobacco Retailers’ Alliance (TRA) represents 26,000 shopkeepers across the UK, most of whom will be affected when the ban is introduced in shops of 280 sq metres or less in April 2015.

TRA Scotland Spokesman, Geoff Barrett, who is a retailer in Glasgow commented: