Tobacco displays encourage smoking

Children who see cigarettes on sale in shops will be more encouraged to buy them as they look "cool", new research shows.

As the Government considers whether to reverse a ban on cigarette vending machines and on shops showing rows of cigarettes and tobacco, a study revealed that young people feel more like smoking if they see cigarettes on sale in shops.

Young people said that point-of-sale tobacco displays in shops are "cool, fun, and attractive" and are likely to encourage smoking.

When Labour was in power, the 2009 Health Act was passed that would ban cigarette vending machines and put tobacco out of sight in all shops by the end of 2013.

However, the regulations needed to implement the changes have not come into force, and implementing the law could cost newsagents in the region of 250 million pounds, it was claimed.

Jean King, Cancer Research UK's director of tobacco control, said: "The influence of tobacco marketing must be removed from lives of young people.

"We urge the Government to confirm their commitment to protect our children, now and in the future, from tobacco. "

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