The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has made its submission to the Department of Health consultation opposing the introduction of standardised tobacco packaging in England, Wales and Scotland.
The submission sets out concerns about the impact of service times, profitability and highlights concerns that it will fuel the illegal trade.
ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “We urge Ministers not to impose yet another costly and disruptive regulatory burden on local shops. This proposal will make it slower and costlier to manage stock and serve customers.
“A decision to press ahead with standardised packaging for tobacco would create disruption and uncertainty at a time the tobacco display ban is yet to be fully implemented or its effects measured.
“Ministers should wait and carefully assess the impact of standardised packaging when it is imposed in Australia later this year. This is the only way to have reliable data on the scale of the business impact. Failure to do anything else would be irresponsible.”
The Department of Health Consultation closes on the July 9. ACS’ submission is available in full at http://bit.ly/N3ypra. A supporting diagram detailing the operational issues of standardized packaging is available at: http://bit.ly/LJMu9z
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