Shops still willing to sell children cigarettes

TWO out of five shops and two out of three licensed premises are still willing to sell cigarettes to children, new research shows.

The report of the Office of Tobacco Control (OTC) found that refusal rates among retailers for tobacco sales to minors are still unacceptably low.

In particular, it found that more than six out of 10 young people under the age of 18 are not prevented from using vending machines in licensed premises.

Last year, 19 successful prosecutions were taken against retailers under the Public Health Tobacco Acts, compared to 20 in 2007.

The Health Service Executive’s (HSE’s) environmental health service insisted yesterday its officers were committed to enforcing the law banning the sale of cigarettes to children.

HSE area chief environmental officer for Dublin Mid-Leinster, Ann Marie Part, said they were working relentlessly with retailers to encourage greater compliance with the law.

“Prosecution is our last resort,” she said.

The report also found that nine out of 10 stores visited contained some form of tobacco advertising and 40% of shops had confectionery displayed beside the tobacco section.

New laws on point-of-sale advertising to be introduced in July are to further protect children from the dangers of tobacco consumption.

Speaking at the launch of the report in the Royal College of Physicians in Dublin, minister of state at the Department of Children, Mary Wallace, said it was imperative that retailers ask all young people for ID.

The report found that 54% of shops asked children for proof of their age in 2008, compared to 47% in 2007. But the figure for licensed premises remained almost unchanged last year, with 31% requesting ID.

The report found that refusal rates varied across store type, ranging from 55% among independent grocers to 70% among multiples. All stores reported higher compliance levels last year though.

Regionally, refusal rates were highest in the HSE West at 70%.

OTC chairperson, Norma Cronin, said the significance of the measures being introduced this summer, in terms of protecting children, should not be underestimated.

“In Ireland, for example, 80% of child smokers smoke just two brands, the brands which happen to be the two most heavily marketed through the use of in-store displays,” she pointed out.

This year all retailers intending to sell tobacco products beyond September will be required to register with the OTC.