Forecourts saw their share of total tobacco sales increase by 4% following the introduction of Ireland’s public smoking ban, according to figures released by Imperial Tobacco.

As UK retailers prepare for a raft of legislation over the next year, including new public smoking bans for Wales, Northern Ireland and England, Imperial’s communications manager, Iain Watkins, said shifting channel shares had also boosted sales of alcohol and other related categories for Irish retailers.

Vending and the on-trade sectors each saw their market share drop by more than 30%, while standalone c-stores increased their share by 20%.

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