I am an independent retailer from and I have owned my shop for years. I am opposed to Government proposals to ban the display of tobacco because it would be a major restriction on my business and would place a significant and disproportionate burden on small shops. Tobacco accounts for around % of my cash turnover. In order to compete fairly with supermarkets, I need to be able to display the full product range and their prices.
If the display of tobacco is banned, I would have to… Buy a new counter Re-model my shop Close or sell my shop as I could not afford to make changes
I estimate it will cost me Ł to comply with the proposals.
I am concerned that banning the display of tobacco will: Cause me to lose trade to the supermarkets Increase the black market in smuggled tobacco
Optional I am also opposed to banning the sale of 10s packs, which account for around one fifth of my tobacco sales. Adults buy packs of 10 cigarettes to regulate their consumption and a packet of 10 in my shop costs the same as a packet of 20 from the black market.
Optional I do not believe that young people begin smoking because of packaging on tobacco products. Plain packaging would have implications on the efficiency of my business and activities such as stock taking and serving customers would be difficult without the packaging.
Optional Making it illegal for adults to buy tobacco on behalf of minors (so-called ‘proxy purchasing) would help reduce youth smoking and would not have a detrimental impact on small businesses. There are more effective ways of tackling youth smoking that work with small shops, not against them. Please re-consider these proposals.
