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Index
Overview
Who uses vending machines?
The case for prohibiting the sale of tobacco from vending machines
Sales by premise type: Oct 2007-March 2008
Why modifying vending machines is not an adequate means of preventing illegal sales to children
ReferencesAs part of the Health Act 2009(1), the sale of tobacco products from vending machines will be made illegal. It is expected that this will come into effect from October 2011. The tobacco control measures included in the Act followed a public consultation on the future of tobacco control.(2) 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.
Despite this agreement, vending machines are regularly used by children who have little difficulty in making purchases since the machines are self-service and rarely supervised.
Currently 22 countries in Europe ban or have never allowed sales from vending machines of tobacco.(3) Prohibiting the sale of tobacco products from vending machines would bring us in line with the majority of European nations and would reduce children’s access to tobacco.
The latest survey of smoking among children reveals that 17% of 11 to 15 year olds who smoke regularly report that vending machines are their usual source of cigarettes.(4) According to the British Heart Foundation, this means that in 2006 more than 46,000 11-15 year old regular smokers obtained cigarettes from vending machines in England and Wales.(5) Overall vending machines account for less than 1% 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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The case for prohibiting the sale of tobacco from vending machines
A survey by LACORS (6) reporting on test purchases by young people under the supervision of by trading standards officers, showed that there was an almost two-fold increase in illegal sales of tobacco to minors in the six months from October 2007 to March 2008 compared with the same period in 2006/7. The research in 2006-07 took place when the minimum age for the purchase of tobacco was 16 while the second survey took place after the raising of the legal minimum age from 16 to 18. The study found that young people were able to buy cigarettes from coin-operated vending machines on more than four in ten occasions, with a number of councils reporting a 100% successful purchase rate. The findings are as follows:
Sales by premise type: Oct 2007-March 2008
Large national retailer Small retailer National newsagent Independent newsagent Off licence Petrol station kiosk Vending machines Other (e.g. cafes) Total sales tobacco 2006-7 Total sales tobacco 2007-8
Some councils found that where children were successfully prevented from purchasing from vending machines it was because the machine was broken rather than because they were challenged.
The survey reveals the sharp increase in illegal sales following the raising of the minimum age for the purchase of tobacco. It also suggests that vending machines are likely to be a common source of cigarettes for 16-18 year olds and underlines the need to prohibit sales from this source.
Why modifying vending machines is not an adequate means of preventing illegal sales to children
The tobacco industry argues that vending machines could be modified to prevent underage sales, by for example, requiring the use of tokens or ID cards. Neither of these options to ‘child-proof’ vending machines are likely to be an effective deterrent and are open to abuse. Unlike a human retailer, a machine cannot verify that the ID is being presented by its proper owner. In a bid to tackle under age purchases from vending machines age verification cards have been issued in Japan. However, it is reported that under age smokers routinely borrow them from friends and family or find other means of circumventing the system.(7) The tobacco industry also argues that banning vending machines would have an adverse impact on businesses that currently host machines on their premises. However, vending machines could be modified for the sale of healthier products such as nicotine replacement therapies to cater for the 70% of smokers who want to stop smoking.(8)
(1) Health Act 2009, OPSI
(2) Consultation on the Future of Tobacco Control. Department of Health, 2008
(3) The European Tobacco Control report, WHO 2007
(4) Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England in 2006. The Information Centre for Health & Social Care, 2007
(5) Briefing note on EDM 2502 on tobacco vending machines. British Heart Foundation, October 2008
(6) Test Purchasing of Tobacco Products, Results from Local Authority Trading Standards, 1st October 2007 to 31st March 2008. LACORS is the organisation responsible for overseeing local authority regulatory services in the UK.
(7) See for example it.slashdot.org/article.pl?no_d2=1&sid=08/06/29/1745256
(8) Statistics on Smoking: England, 2007. The Information Centre for Health and Social Care, 2007
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