• March 28, 2024

Licensing proposal under attack

 Licensing proposal under attack

The UK smokers’ group Forest has urged the government to put the interests of legitimate retailers and consumers ahead of the demands of the tobacco control industry by rejecting a tobacco retailer licensing scheme.

In a submission to a consultation that closed on Friday, the group said that introducing a licensing scheme could reduce significantly the number of small businesses that sell tobacco.

“Deliberately reducing the density or number of existing tobacco retailers in a specific area would discriminate against many small businesses who rely on tobacco sales to make ends meet,” said Forest’s director Simon Clark.

“It would also deny consumers the choice and convenience they have come to expect. Demand for illicit tobacco could increase because cost and convenience would combine to make black market tobacco even more attractive than it is already.

“Increasing the administrative burden on retailers could lead to higher prices as retailers pass the cost on to the consumer. Price increases could be added to non-tobacco products so the impact of licensing would unfairly hit non-smoking customers as well.”

Clark urged the government to put the needs of legitimate retailers and consumers first and not succumb to the demands of the tobacco control industry whose goal was to force smokers to quit regardless of whether they wanted to do so or not.

“If adult consumers choose to purchase a legal product their lives should not be made unnecessarily difficult by the imposition of regulations that could fuel illicit trade and adversely affect many legitimate businesses.”