My Lords, if the noble Lord would allow me to continue my remarks, he might learn.
Most relevant here is that there was very little support from anyone for a partial ban, or limited display. The main reason given was that it would not achieve the public health objectives. Display by its very nature constitutes promotion, and removing it completely is the only sure way to prevent tobacco promotion. There are also concerns that a partial display ban would increase the regulatory burden, making the legislation harder for a shop to comply with and for local authorities to enforce.
In their consultation response, the local authorities’ co-ordinators of regulatory services, known to the rest of us as trading standards officers, supported completely removing display prohibition. They argued that complete prohibition, ""presents a clear message to retailers and potentially would be more straightforward to enforce for local councils"."
Under Amendment 42, it would be lawful to display tobacco products if only one packet of each product were on view. However, the amendment would not achieve the public health objectives to which I have already referred, and I should like to consider the practical implications were it to be accepted.
We may learn from New Zealand, where partial limitations on tobacco displays were introduced in 2003. Research there found that more than two-thirds of stores were not compliant with the regulations and, worryingly, that compliance was worst in lower socio-economic areas, where we know that children are even more likely to take up smoking. The experience in New Zealand supports what common sense should tell us—that a partial display ban would be a compromise, leading to fewer benefits and greater burdens.
I emphasise that in removing tobacco displays it is not our intention to penalise the retail trade. The Government are certainly not blaming shopkeepers for selling tobacco, which, as many have pointed out, is a legal commodity. Indeed, the tobacco industry has an obligation to make profits for its shareholders, and that means that it needs to find ways to encourage people to start smoking and to stop people giving up. We believe that a partial display ban would provide a clear incentive for the tobacco industry to make the most of what display it has left by developing new products to fill that display space.
We have already seen a dramatic increase in the number of brand variants in response to the advertising ban. For example, Marlboro Red and Marlboro Gold are brand variants but, under my noble friend’s amendment, each would qualify as a separate product because they have slightly different ingredients and different packaging.
We know from the trade press that the number of brand variants for 15 of the most common brands in the UK increased from 74 in 1998 to 95 in 2003—an increase of 28 per cent over five years. However, in the five years following the ban on tobacco advertising, the number of brand variants increased from 95 in 2003 to 172 in 2008—a much larger increase of more than 80 per cent. In other words, in just 10 years, the number of brand variants more than doubled.
The amendment would provide a clear incentive for companies to develop new brand variants so that they could increase the number of their products on view and have a greater impact than their competitors. That could result in larger displays. For example, a recent report of 153 visits to retailers in seven different regions showed that the smallest tobacco gantry typically held approximately 75 cigarette packs facing forward. As I have just explained, there are now 172 different brand variants on the UK market, so even all the current brands would require a display of at least double the size for a small corner shop.
We could use proposed new paragraph (c) in the amendment to limit the size of displays through regulations, but that would be likely to result in only the market leaders being displayed. My noble friend is an expert on competitive business, so he will know that that would give them an unfair competitive advantage. I am sure that it is not his intention but, sadly, under the amendment we would be forced to choose between allowing, and indeed encouraging, tobacco displays to get larger or giving an unfair competitive advantage to the market leaders. From an enforcement perspective, local authorities would be faced with the burden of having to check every tobacco display in every retail outlet to ensure that only one packet of each of these many variants was on display at any one time. Therefore, I urge my noble friend to withdraw Amendment 42.
Amendment 43 would allow tobacco displays in licensed or club premises where access was restricted to individuals aged 18 or over. We believe that this amendment misses altogether the second public health objective of our policy—that is, to support people who smoke but want to quit. Research clearly shows that displays undermine the efforts of smokers who want to quit. A recent study in Australia found that more than a third of people who had tried to quit in the past year were tempted to buy cigarettes when they saw tobacco on display. Of those, 68 per cent went on to buy cigarettes, giving up on their commitment to quit and having to start all over again.
We know that displays prompt impulse purchases, tempting people who want to give up smoking to buy cigarettes and carry on smoking, even when they wish to stop. Allowing displays in areas accessible only to adults would not protect and support adults who want to quit. Therefore, I am afraid to say to my noble friend that I am not prepared to accept this amendment.
In conclusion, let us not be naive: displaying products increases sales. The industry will say that display is about competition for market share, and that it is about differentiating brands from those of competitors, enabling vigorous competition and communicating with the adult smoker. However, displays do not help smokers to change brands and they are attractive to children and young people. Display undermines efforts to quit and encourages young people to smoke. Smoking is not a lifestyle choice but it is an addiction. Taking away tobacco displays will not stop smokers buying their cigarettes, but it may enable and empower young people and smokers who are trying to quit to make a healthy choice, which is something we should support.
There is no need for tobacco to be displayed and there is real harm in it being displayed. Removing displays completely is the only sensible measure to ensure that our children are protected and that people who want to give up a most addictive and dangerous substance are supported in doing so. For these reasons, I cannot accept the amendment and I hope my noble friend will feel able to withdraw it.
Health Bill [HL]
Proceeding contribution from
Baroness Thornton
(Labour)
in the House of Lords on Wednesday, 6 May 2009.
It occurred during Debate on bills on Health Bill [HL].
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710 c564-6 
Session
2008-09
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