Cigarette Machines a New Problem for Officials
Officials consider cigarette vending machines a way to increase smoking among children. One in six child smokers use vending machines, research suggests, but the true figure could be much higher. That’s why they plan to ban them for to restrict the sale of tobacco.
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) said that the machines make it too easy for young people to buy tobacco underage.
As part of the Health Bill, which will be discussed in Parliament, the Government has proposed that the methods should be age limited, for example by a landlord or shopkeeper granting use via slight control.
But the BHF are not sure that the cigarette vending machines will be banned so easy, because these machines yield good returns.
For example half of the 300 pub bosses surveyed said they earned £500 or less from the machines per year, and 63% felt removing them would have no impact on their business.
Peter Hollins, chief executive of the BHF said: “The Government’s plan is unworkable and unrealistic. The message from the pub industry is loud and clear, they can’t make these proposals work and the loose change they make from these machines isn’t worth the difficulty of keeping them.”
He considers that the only people with a real interest in vending machines are the tobacco industry. Statistics show that every year young people start a life time’s addiction on cigarettes by buying them from a vending machine. But the Government, unlike tobacco industry, needs to be braver and put the interests of children ahead of a commercial lobby.
Researchers found that last year 12% of children and young people in England who smoked regularly usually bought cigarettes from machines.
Mr. Hollins added: “We don’t allow other age restricted products like alcohol, fireworks or knives to be sold from vending machines. These are only sold where there is a face to face transaction over the counter.”
As it is known smoking is one of the biggest avoidable causes of death and disease in the country. However the vending cigarette machines continue to be allowed.
