Tobacco sellers flouting laws, study says

Campaigners say laws on cigarette display laws are not working. File picture / Stephen Parker

A quarter of stores are breaking the law on selling cigarettes next to sweets and other children's products, a new Otago University study has found.

The study also found more than half of all shops selling cigarettes were breaking the laws on displaying them, including more than three-quarters of dairies.

The university's Wellington School of Medicine surveyed nearly 300 stores selling tobacco and cigarettes in the greater Wellington region, and found over 60 per cent were not complying with the Smoke-free Environments Amendment Act.

The most consistent offenders were convenience stores -- 82 per cent were breaking at least one part of the law -- while 76 per cent of dairies did the same.

The most common breaches were the 24 per cent of stores which had tobacco products closer than 1m to children's products, failing to display a "Smoking Kills" sign within 2m of the display (30 per cent), and tobacco displays visible from outside the shop (25 per cent).

In areas with the highest proportion of children, the problem was more than twice as bad -- 55 per cent of dairies and convenience stores in those areas displayed cigarettes within a metre of children's products.

George Thomson, one of the study's authors, was surprised by the findings.

"This study clearly indicates that the current cigarette display regulations are failing to protect children from tobacco marketing, and a complete ban on cigarette displays is needed."

The Cancer Society's Belinda Hughes said the legislation was "woefully" inadequate.

"Cigarettes are not just another consumer item. They cause lethal cancers and are highly addictive," she said. "We've got to take a much more serious line on this issue."

Anti smoking lobby group ASH NZ director Becky Freeman called for a complete ban on retail displays of tobacco.

"The tobacco industry pays thousands of dollars to retain the best shelf space to attract and addict our kids," she said.

"This has to stop. The current display regulations are not protecting our children."

Experts from Otago University, ASH, the Cancer Society and Smoke Free Tasmania will be speaking today in Wellington at a smoke-free symposium on the importance of banning cigarette displays.

- NZPA