Health Bill [HL]

The noble Baroness is correct. I am coming to that point next. The Government have set out in the regulatory impact assessment accompanying the Bill the potential cost of these measures to business, using an estimated average cost of £1,000 a store. That is a generous assessment which more than allows for the stores that may choose more elaborate means to remove their tobacco displays. In its response to our consultation, the Association of Convenience Stores said: ""We do know that it is commonplace for tobacco companies to pay for gantries and their replacement"." The noble Baroness was, as ever, ahead of me. We understand from experience in Canada that the tobacco industry continued to fund the cost of tobacco gantries even after a prohibition on display. The suggestion has also been made that removing the display of tobacco would impact on business by reducing footfall trade, by which I mean the sale of other items such as newspapers and sweets to customers who buy cigarettes. I think we should be realistic about this. First, people who choose to smoke will continue to buy their cigarettes and secondary purchases even after tobacco is removed from display. Secondly, the provisions of this Bill will apply equally to all tobacco retailers, so it will not favour one over another; there will be a level playing field for all businesses. Finally, retailers understand that they cannot rely on the sale of tobacco for ever. The market for tobacco will continue to decline, a point made by the noble Lord, Lord Naseby, and a fact for which we make no apologies. This means that small retailers need to diversify their businesses to take account of customers’ changing spending patterns, a fact acknowledged in Convenience Store magazine in May last year when it stated: ""We are investing heavily in non-tobacco areas. Frankly, that is where the future is"." We are particularly aware—