The City Council's Trading Standards Service continues to play a major role within the Smoke Free Newcastle partnership. This role focuses around several key legislative areas. These can be identified under the following primary headings:
1. Age Restricted Legislation
2. Responsible Retailer Award Scheme
3. Cigarette Vending Machines
4. Illicit Products
5. Marketing and Advertising Restrictions
6. Product Labelling
Consumer laws control the quality and safety of goods and services. In some cases, certain specified goods cannot be supplied to anyone below a certain age. For tobacco products, the minimum age is 18 years.
Trading Standards Officers of the City Council are empowered to ensure that the legislation around a range of age restricted products is closely followed. To ensure compliance Trading Standards Officers, with the assistance of child volunteers, carry out test purchases on age restricted products.
Any test purchases using the child volunteers that could result in prosecution of individuals will be carried out in strict accordance with the guidelines as issued by Local Government Regulation (formerley LACORS) and last updated in March 2010. Test purchase exercises are not deemed as entrapment.
39 Test Purchases conducted with 3 sales. After criminal investigations into each of these matters, proceedings were instituted against the individuals involved in the three retail premises.
An article following the convictions of the individuals involved, was published in the "Evening Chronicle" of the 20th January 2011:
The City of Newcastle's Trading Standards Service has developed and is planning to introduce a new response to the issue of the illegal sales of age restricted products from retail premises in the city - A Responsible Retailer Award Scheme.
The scheme aims to give recognition to those premises within Newcastle who have committed to trading responsibly and once having done so, continue to do so.
The primary purpose of the scheme is to reduce problems such as underage drinking and smoking by denying young people access to related age restricted products such as alcohol and cigarettes. The new award scheme is to be initially aimed at at off-licences in six pilot areas across the city:
1. Throckley/Newburn/Lemington,
2. Denton/Westerhope,
3. Fawdon/Kenton,
4. Benwell/Scotswood/Elswick,
5. Ouseburn/Byker,
6. Walker/Walkergate.
The scheme aims to provide information to make retailers in the retail premises in the six pilot areas, fully aware of their responsibilities in avoiding illegal sales and also support them in upholding the law.
Retailers, who prove themselves diligent in demanding proof of age from their young shoppers, train their staff in the relevant legisaltion and meet basic criteria, will receive Certificates of Responsbility from the City Council.
Retailers can benefit from a Responsible Retailer Scheme Award in many ways:
1. The scheme provides basic guidance to staff to assist the retailer with the training of his/her staff. This in itself helps to ensure against accidental underage sales and can also help to prove a due diligence defence in a formal investigation following the alleged sale of an age restricted product,
2. The scheme recognises positive behaviour. We fully recognise that retailers who are doing a good job, often in difficult circumstances, deserve to be rewarded,
3. The scheme aims to discourage children from even attempting to purchase age restricted products illegally. In other areas of the country, where similar schemes have been running for several years, a survey of retailers who succeeded in gaining an award showed that the number of requests from consumers under the legal age for sales of age restricted products had declined.
For an Application Form together with the Conditions of membership go to Application Form
Following support from the Alcohol Board responsible for delivering the Newcastle Alcohol Strategy "Safe Sensible and Social 2008 - 2018", the Newcastle Trading Standards service has developed a new Guidance Booklet for the Off-Licence trade on how to avoid selling the full range of age restricted products, including alcohol, fireworks and cigarettes.
It is planned that copies of this new Guidance Booklet will shortly be sent around to all Off-Licences in Newcastle, but if anyone needs to download a copy just go to Guidance Booklet
If you are a retailer within one of the six pilot areas and you would wish to now join the new scheme, please follow the now go through the following procedure to ensure that we respond to your interest in an efficient and timely manner:
If your business is not within one of the six pilot areas, we will still be happy to receive your interest and process your Application.
Illicit tobacco is a major cause of premature death, disease and health inequalities. It is thought that one in six cigarettes and over half of hand rolled tobacco is now smuggled or fake.
On some residential estates, the sale of illicit cigarettes from a front room, car boot or factory floor is now the norm. But this is not a victimless crime. It is linked to organised crime, raising anxiety amongst law abiding citizens. It also undermines the legal UK controls on tobacco, creating new generations of children who will become addicted from their teens, especially in poorer communities.
Cutting supply and demand is the urgent priority of the North of England 'Tackling Illicit Tobacco for Better Health Programme' across the North East, North West, Yorkshire and Humberside. It launched in July 2009 and is a partnership between FRESH - Smoke Free North East, Smoke Free North West, Smoke Free Yorkshire and the Humber, Trading Standards, HM Revenue and Customs, the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and the UK Border Agency. It operates around eight key objectives which centre on the development of partnerships, intelligence and enforcement, and marketing and communications.
To reiterate, the trade in illegal tobacco is not a victimless crime. The results of a major public opinion survey tell us that people are concerned about children getting hold of cigarettes easily and that the trade brings crime into local neighbourhoods. Smokers also told us that cheap tobacco keeps them hooked.
A key milestone in the programme has been the launch of "Get Some Answers", a social marketing campaign that seeks to target members of the public who feel uncomfortable - or have the potential to feel uncomfortable - about the illict tobacco trade. A range of resources have been produced to encourage the public to share intelligence anonymously through the Crimestoppers hotline.
Stakeholders, such as those working in enforcement roles or in community settings, have also been given resources to find out more about the trade and their role in tackling it.
Smoke Free Newcastle agreed a local implementation programme for the campaign which included:
1. Pack Scanning: Officers visited some 177 retail premises across the city selling cigarettes, checking 3,500 packs of 20 cigarettes (70,000 individual cigarettes) using a hand held scanner provided by HMRC. Positively, none of the packs of cigarettes scanned were found to be ilicit products. The opportunity was used during the visits to check all other tobacco enforcement related issues such as advertising and display of statutory warning notices. All retailers visited were provided with campaign advice packs, containing posters and background materials.
As part of a follow-up operations carried out in November and December 2010, officers visited some 30 retail premises across the city selling cigarettes, checking 600 packs of 20 cigarettes (12,000 individual cigarettes) using a hand held scanner provided by HMRC. Positively, none of the packs of cigarettes scanned were found to be illicit products. The opportunity was used during the visits to check all other tobacco enforcement related issues such as advertising and display of statutory warning notices.
2. Operation Vienetta: 39 mobile vendors including burger vans and ice cream vans were visited by officers. It is pleasing to note that only one mobile vendor was selling cigarettes and these were found not to be illicit. At the end of these retail visits, campaign advice packs containing posters and background material were left with a number of these mobile vendors.
3. Operation Raleigh: Following information received from legitimate traders, it emerged that some food premises, primarily serving the BME communities, were engaged in the supply of ilicit cigarettes and niche tobacco products. Officers worked in full co-operation and with the full assistance of the Specialist Investigation team at HMRC to follow up on the intelligence as received. Some 22 visits to retail premises across the city were conducted in September 2010. In summary the joint operations resulted in the seizure of some 11,326 illicit cigarettes, including brands such as "Jin Ling", "Business Royals" and "Kingdom"; 17 packets of "Black Snuff" and 9KG's of niche tobacco products.
A further 17 visits to retail premises across the city were conducted in October 2010. It was pleasing to note that no illicit tobacco products were found during this operation.
Again in December 2011, joint visits with officers from HMRC, were conducted on some 16 retail premises in the city. In two of these premises, a significant number of packets of niche tobacco, were seized.
In January 2011, a number of domestic and retail premises were visited in a joint operation by officers from HMRC and the Trading Standards service.
In April 2011, joint visits with officers from HMRC, were conducted on some 10 retail premises in the city. In one of these premises, some 2000 illict cigarettes were seized. In another premises some 39 packets of hand rolling tobacco, together with various niche tobacco products were also seized.
Again in April 2011, officers conducted an operation on various takeaways in the city centre. In four of these premises, advice was given to the retailers concerned, related to the selling of tobacco products and when all such products where examined, they were all found to be legitimate.
In July 2011, visits were conducted on some 11 retail premises in the city. It was pleasing to report that in all of these premises, the ;cigarettes found and examined proved to be legitimate products.
Smoke Free Newcastle Illegal Tobacco
4. Niche Tobacco Products: In response to the availability of Niche Tobacco Products, a Business Advice sheet has been developed and distributed to various retail businesses in the city.
The Sale of 'Niche' Tobacco Products
A new warning ab out illegal tobacco has highlighted the harm they pose to the health of children and young people.
Criminals are helping recruit a new generation of smokers through mass illegal cigarettes and hand rolled tobacco (HRT) with either no health warnings at all, or written in Russian, Chinese or Arabic.
Much of the tobacco now being seized by local Trading Standards services, Police and HMRC is being made in the Far East purely to be sold on by local tab houses and under the counter operated by irresponsible businesses. But this illicit tobacco lacks the warnings that smoking causes lung cancer, mouth cancer, and a range of other horrific diseases that have helped motivate many smokers to quit.
As the "Get Some Answers" campaign launches across the North East, residents are being urged to phone Crimestoppers in complete anonymity on 0800 555111 if illegal is being sold near them.
Nine out of ten people in the North East think illegal tobacco is a danger as it allows children to smoke, while six out of ten believe it brings crime into communities. And 85% supports efforts to stamp out dealing to children.
The team behind the "Get Some Answers" campaign has brought together Fresh, Police, Trading Standards Officers, HMRC and front line health professionals committed to tackling smoking.
Anyone with information about dealing in illegal tobacco can pass it on completely anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 or at www.crimestoppers-uk.org
Click here for more detailed information about Jin Ling and illegal tobacco from the former Soviet Bloc http://www.publicintegrity.org/investigations/tobacco/articles/entry/763/
The Core Cities Group is a network of England's major regional cities: Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield. The Group works in partnership to enable each City to enhance their performance in key areas. The Core Cities Health Improvement Collaborative is a two year scheme to tackle the major health inequalities facing England's eight biggest regional cities. Senior managers from the Primary Care Trust and local government, work together with a consortium of health and local government specialists to create programmes of work which not only improve practice but which create more effective health improvement strategies.
The Group focuses its activities on key 'topic' areas and tobacco was the most recent issue explored on the 12th/13th October 2010 at an event hosted by Bristol. A representative group from the PCT and the City Council together with colleagues from FRESH attended the event and presented on the work carried out in Newcastle, around the "Get Some Answers" campaign.
Go to the handout prepared for the event in Bristol. Handout
We managed to attract some good publicity for the overall Campaign, with a number of articles been published in the "Evening Chronicle".
Following one of the joint operations carried out on retail premises in the west of the city, there was an article in the "Evening Chronicle" of the 23rd July 2010:
Following one of the joint operations carried out on retail premises in the city centre, there was an article in the "Evening Chronicle" of the 4th September 2010:
Following the conviction of a proprietor of a takeaway, caught selling alcohol without a Premises Licence and also illicit cigarettes, there was an article in the "Evening Chronicle" of the 26th November 2010.
Following one of the joint operations carried out on retai l premises in the west of the city, there was an article in the "Evening Chronicle" of the 22nd December 2010:
Following the launch of the new campaign in respect of illicit tobacco campaign, there was an article in the "Evening Chronicle" of the 4th February 2011:
Strong evidence exists to link the prohibition of tobacco advertising with a decrease in smoking levels. That is why the UK has a comprehensive ban - just like many other countries in Europe and beyond. It is estimated that in the long term, the UK advertising ban will lead to a 2.5% decrease in smoking levels.
The Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002 prohibits the advertising and promotion of tobacco products in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, including sponsorship. There are limited exemptions for specialist tobacconists and at the 'point of sale' in retail outlets/vending machines, both covered by regulations (see below). Separate regulations also prohibit 'brandsharing' - the promotion of a tobacco product by another product (e.g. clothing, perfume etc) or vice versa. Regulations prohibiting tobacco advertising on the internet came into force in September 2006.
This strand of the Department of Health's tobacco control programme concerns regulating tobacco products through the labelling of packaging, regulating contents and emissions of tobacco products and controlling the sale of tobacco to young people under the minimum age.
Pack Labelling and Health Warnings
Th e Tobacco Products (Manufacture, Presentation and Sale) (Safety) Regulations 2002 introduced larger, hard-hitting health warnings on tobacco packs and these were introduced in 2003. The regulations also prohibit misleading terms such as low-tar, mild and light from tobacco products.
On the 29th August 2007, the Government announced the introduction of picture warnings under the Tobacco Products (Manufacture, Presentation and Sale) (Safety) (Amendment) Regulations 2007. They started appearing on tobacco products from the Autumn of 2008.
The UK is the first country in the EU to require picture warnings on all tobacco products. The images were chosen from an EU photo library on the basis of market research and public consultation. The majority of people opted for the most shocking images. Research from Canada, where picture warnings have been required for several years, demonstrates that they are highly effective in encouraging people to quit smoking.
On the 1st October 2008 the UK introduced new graphic picture warnings to cigarette packets. The new warnings, which include pictures of rotting teeth and lungs, throat cancer and a 'flaccid cigarette' replace the written warnings on the back of packets, which were introduced in January 2003.
Trading Standards Services are required to enforce the law, which they do in the following ways:
Keep a copy of this page.
Explain the law to each of your employees who deals with the public.
Trading Standards Services are always ready to give advice to reputable traders. If you would like to speak to an officer, give your local service a ring.
Remember
These laws exist to safeguard the health of young people; offenders may be prosecuted without warning. If in doubt, say 'no' - it could save you a heavy fine.
If anyone thinks a particular premises in Newcastle is breaking the law by selling cigarettes to those under 18, or not complying with the advertising or product labelling Regulations, or if indeed you may think the shop or a neighbour is running a "tab house" in that they are selling products illegally please contact Trading Standards on 0191 2116121 or HMRC on the 24-hour confidential hotline 0800 59 5000.
On the 30th November 2010 the Secretary of State for Health presented to Parliament a White Paper entitled: "Health Lives, Healthy People: Our strategy for public health in England".
In respect of the Government's proposals around tobacco legislation, the following paragraphs within the White Paper, sets out the Government's view:
"3.24 Central and local government are responsible for protecting children through tobacco control legislation and enforcement, including preventing sales to under 18 year olds.
3.25 Since the prohibition of tobacco advertising, the only way that tobacco products can be promoted is point of sale. The Government will look at whether the plain packaging of tobacco products could be an effective way to reduce the number of young people taking up smoking and to help those trying to quit smoking. The Government wants to make it easier for people to make healthy choices, but will need to make sure that there is good evidence to demonstrate that plain packaging would have a public health benefit, as well as carefully exploring the competiton, trade and legal implications of the policy. Details on how we propose to proceed will be set out in the Tobacco Control Plan.
3.26 The recent legislation (Health Act 2009), to stop tobacco sales from vending machines will come into effect on the 1st October 2011, so removing an easy source of cigarettes from under-age smokers and a source of temptation for adults trying to quit. We are also considering options for the display of tobacco in shops, recognising the need to take action both to reduce tobacco consumption and to reduce burdens on businesses. An announcement about this will be made shortly".
To see a copy of the White Paper go to www.dh.gov.uk
Healthy Lives, Healthy People: A Tobacco Control Plan for England sets out how tobacco control will be delivered in the context of the new public health system, focusing in particular on the action that the Government will take nationally over the next five years to drive down the prevalence of smoking and to support comprehensive tobacco control in local areas.
It includes commitments to:
Through the comprehensive action described in this plan, we want to reduce smoking rates faster in the next five years than has been achieved in the past five years. The plan sets out national ambitions:
An article on the implications for businesses on the proposed ban on the Point of Sale for tobacco products was published in the "Evening Chronicle" of the 10th March 2011:
Go to the websites of the North of England Tackling Illicit Tobacco for Better Health at: www.illicittobacconorth.org
The Department of Health at www.dh.gov.uk
FRESH. Smoke Free North East at www.freshne.co.uk
Please note: This information has no legal force and is not an authoritative interpretation of the law, which is a matter for the Courts. It is intended to help businesses to understand in general terms, the main features of the legislation. The information is not a substitute for the legislation and you should refer to the text of the legislation for a full statement of legal requirements and obligations. Where appropriate, you should seek your own independent legal advice.
For further information, please contact the City of Newcastle upon Tyne's Trading Standards Service on 2116121 or via E-mail at tradingstandards@newcastle.gov.uk.
Last Reviewed/Updated: July 2011