With just months until the start of the generational tobacco and ban – which will preclude anyone born on or after January 1, 2009 from ever being able to buy tobacco products – the Association of Convenience Stores has launched an awareness raising campaign.
The organisation’s ‘Decline09’ project is geared around making retailers aware that from January 1, 2027 they will be legally obliged to refuse to sell cigarettes, loose and heated tobacco, cigars, snuff and cigarette papers to anyone born before 2009, with this requiring a fundamental shift in how shopkeepers approach asking customers for proof of age.
Rather than being named after the declining category sales the ban will bring, the Decline09 campaign reminds shops that they must decline to sell tobacco products to those born after 2008.
The ban means that in years to come retailers will have to ask for ID from people in their 30s, 40s and beyond, refusing to sell them cigarettes and tobacco if they are unable to prove they were born prior to the cut-off date.
The ACS campaign includes a one-page guide to the new rules, together with signs shopkeepers can display both explaining the law to customers, and reminding staff of their obligations, with all materials free and available online.
The ACS’ chief executive, Ed Woodall, comments: “The introduction of the generational tobacco ban will require store colleagues to be trained on a whole new way of checking that someone is of age to purchase tobacco products. The Decline09 campaign aims to simplify that process as much as possible to ensure that colleagues can approach the change with confidence and ensure that they uphold the law.”
Kate Pike from the Chartered Trading Standards Institute says: “Trading Standards have strongly backed the proposal to recognise the uniquely harmful nature of cigarettes and tobacco products through the Smokefree Generation policy.
“We welcome the constructive guidance for retailers from the Association of Convenience Stores, which explains how to implement the new law in a straightforward and uncomplicated manner. As always, we will continue to support legitimate businesses while taking action against those who persistently ignore their responsibilities.”
