Shock findings about under-age smokers
Monday, 13th September 2010.
A child can go into pubs in Suffolk and purchase cigarettes from vending machines without being challenged.
This is the shock finding by county council trading standards officers after a recent test purchase operation showed how easy it was for young people to access cigarette vending machines.
As part of a regional campaign, under-age volunteers visited 15 pubs across Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds and found that they were able to buy tobacco products in every pub tested without any challenge from members of staff.
Trading standards officers later returned to the pubs and were disappointed with the range of excuses given for failing to prevent the sale.
Eleanor Lake, fair trading officer, said; “Many stated that they didn’t see the volunteer due to the location of the machine, as they were in doorways or in a separate bar, so staff could not see them when they were serving.
"Where a member of staff observed the volunteers but failed to challenge them there was a sense that the sale of cigarettes to under 18s was not as important as the sale of alcohol.
“The results of this study are very concerning. Many staff members felt it was not their responsibility to challenge a person using a vending machine as the pub did not own the machine and did not make a profit from it.
"Others thought that the volunteer looked old enough to buy cigarettes. However, when asked if they would have challenged the volunteer if they attempted to buy alcohol, all staff said that they would have asked for identification.”
Elspeth Gibson from Suffolk Tobacco Control Alliance said: “It is disappointing to see that these pubs in Suffolk allow young people to buy cigarettes on their premises.
"However we are not surprised by these findings as it reflects the picture seen elsewhere. What these test purchases provide is additional evidence to show the need to legislate against the use of vending machines for tobacco products anywhere as nobody takes responsibility for the sale of cigarettes to minors from these machines.”
Currently, the sale of tobacco from vending machines is controlled by a voluntary agreement between cigarette vending machine manufacturers and the managers of sites where vending machines are located.
This non-binding agreement states that machines should be sited in places where children cannot access them and should be in full view of staff.
The latest survey by the information centre for health and social care reveals that 17 per cent of 11 to 15-year-olds who smoke regularly report that vending machines are their usual source of cigarettes.
According to the British Heart Foundation, this means that in 2006 more than 46,000 11 to 15-year-old regular smokers obtained cigarettes from vending machines in England and Wales.
Overall vending machines account for less than one per cent market share of total sales of cigarettes, indicating that 11 to 15-year-olds are more likely to purchase tobacco from vending machines than the population as a whole.
This is the shock finding by county council trading standards officers after a recent test purchase operation showed how easy it was for young people to access cigarette vending machines.
As part of a regional campaign, under-age volunteers visited 15 pubs across Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds and found that they were able to buy tobacco products in every pub tested without any challenge from members of staff.
Trading standards officers later returned to the pubs and were disappointed with the range of excuses given for failing to prevent the sale.
Eleanor Lake, fair trading officer, said; “Many stated that they didn’t see the volunteer due to the location of the machine, as they were in doorways or in a separate bar, so staff could not see them when they were serving.
"Where a member of staff observed the volunteers but failed to challenge them there was a sense that the sale of cigarettes to under 18s was not as important as the sale of alcohol.
“The results of this study are very concerning. Many staff members felt it was not their responsibility to challenge a person using a vending machine as the pub did not own the machine and did not make a profit from it.
"Others thought that the volunteer looked old enough to buy cigarettes. However, when asked if they would have challenged the volunteer if they attempted to buy alcohol, all staff said that they would have asked for identification.”
Elspeth Gibson from Suffolk Tobacco Control Alliance said: “It is disappointing to see that these pubs in Suffolk allow young people to buy cigarettes on their premises.
"However we are not surprised by these findings as it reflects the picture seen elsewhere. What these test purchases provide is additional evidence to show the need to legislate against the use of vending machines for tobacco products anywhere as nobody takes responsibility for the sale of cigarettes to minors from these machines.”
Currently, the sale of tobacco from vending machines is controlled by a voluntary agreement between cigarette vending machine manufacturers and the managers of sites where vending machines are located.
This non-binding agreement states that machines should be sited in places where children cannot access them and should be in full view of staff.
The latest survey by the information centre for health and social care reveals that 17 per cent of 11 to 15-year-olds who smoke regularly report that vending machines are their usual source of cigarettes.
According to the British Heart Foundation, this means that in 2006 more than 46,000 11 to 15-year-old regular smokers obtained cigarettes from vending machines in England and Wales.
Overall vending machines account for less than one per cent market share of total sales of cigarettes, indicating that 11 to 15-year-olds are more likely to purchase tobacco from vending machines than the population as a whole.
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