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The law for selling tobacco changed on the 1st October 2007.
It is now illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 (an increase from 16) in England and Wales. Products affected will include cigarettes, cigars, loose rolling tobacco and rolling papers.
Smoking tobacco is highly addictive and dangerous to health so if you choose to sell tobacco you have to comply with a number of legal duties, one of which is not to sell products to those under the minimum age.
Although having already cut the proportion of young people aged between 11 and 15 who smoke from 13 to nine percent the Department of Health still considers that it is 'too easy' for underage smokers to buy tobacco from retailers.
A national website has been set up to provide information on the change in the law www.tobacco18.co.uk and locally Smoke Free Nottinghamshire have produced a leaflet giving advice which you can download here (pdf document size 446 KB) or which can be requested from our Food/Health & Safety Office (see our main Food page for full contact details).
The importance of this is clear when you realise that:
-One in two lifelong smokers will be killed by their addiction.
-The younger a smoker starts the more likely they are to be killed by their addiction.
-Someone who starts smoking at 15 is three times as likely to die from cancer due to smoking than someone who starts smoking in their mid-20s.
The change in the law will affect those businesses selling tobacco products and further advice can be found on the Smoke Free England website (see lower down this page for a link to their site).
It is estimated that two million people in Great Britain are still exposed to other people’s smoke at work, because their workplace has no policy on smoking. The latest research shows that 12,000 people die from smoking related illnesses each year when they themselves are lifelong non-smokers.
To protect the health of all workers, the Government has committed to making it a legal requirement in England that employers ensure their workplaces are smoke free. From the 1st July 2007, the Health Act has banned smoking in offices, factories, taxis, pubs, nightclubs – any enclosed place where someone else is working.
Any enclosed or ‘substantially enclosed’ public place must now be smoke free. So for instance, people are no longer able to smoke inside a pub, but are still able to smoke outside in beer gardens. However, business owners need to be aware that any outdoor areas that are covered and have walls at least half the way around will be considered ‘substantially enclosed’ and will have to be smoke free. The ban also covers work vehicles, such as taxis or company vans. And if you use your own car for work and you carry a passenger, the vehicle will have to be smoke free. Licensed premises providing shelters for smokers pose aditional concerns,such as the use of flammable awnings and the additional noise caused by people congregating outside licensed premises.
The legislation does not cover domestic settings – what people do in their own home is their choice. Places that are exempt from the smoking ban are workplaces which are also someone’s home. These include residential care homes, long-term residential mental health units and prisons. However, employees in these premises still have the right to work in a healthy environment. So in these premises, smoking will only be allowed in a designated area or in bedrooms, and only by residents or their visitors. Staff working in these premises will not be able to smoke in the buildings. You can download a copy of our leaflet, "Ten Tips For The Smoking Ban" (pdf format size 78 KB) which provides advice to businesses wishing to provide outside smoking shelters. We have also produced an informative newsletter (issue 8 dated February 2007) for businesses which can be downloaded from our downloads page.
It is difficult to ignore the ban, as he new law requires that all public places display ‘no smoking’ signs. This includes work vehicles. The signs display the standard ‘no smoking’ sign and have specific wording on them which states that it is against the law to smoke in the premises.
If members of the public smoke in a smoke free building they will be liable to a £200 fine or an enforcement officer could issue a £50 penalty notice. Any owner of a premises who allows smoking will be liable to a £2,500 fine.
Complaints about people smoking inside workplaces and vehicles, together with complaints about workplaces not displaying signage can be made to our Smoking Enforcement Officer on 0115 9013820. Complaints relating to Gedling- licensed taxis should be made to the Licensing Office (see the Licensing main page for full contact details).
The very extensive and helpful website of Smoke Free England can be visited at http://www.smokefreeengland.co.uk/ for fuller details on the law and on how to go about giving up smoking.
Businesses can use the new legislation to help staff quit the smoking habit. Businesses are encouraged to call the Smoke Free England information line on 0800 169 1697 and register for an information pack. Please note that this information line will close on the 10th August 2007 though the smokefree web site will continue to run.
A sample smoking policy (in Word format) that you can adapt for your business can be downloaded here (file size 29 KB).
You can also download a ‘Guide to going smoke free’ leaflet (pdf document size 56KB)
Two other helpful leaflets (both pdf format) have been produced by "Smoke Free Nottinghamshire". You can download "Your Business Smoke Free in 2007" (file size 446 KB) which contains helpful information to all business types. You can also download a specific leaflet for pubs and clubs entitled, "Your pub smoke free in 2007" (file size 452 KB).
A further series of five leaflets designed to give practical help to businesses on smoke free matters have been produced by "Smoke Free Nottinghamshire" and are available to download. You can download "Get ready for 1st July" (file size 43 KB) and "Your legal requirements from 1st July" (file size 61 KB). Businesses wanting to produce smoking policies can also download, "Sample smoking policy" (file size 91 KB) and, "How to implement a smoking policy" (file size 41 KB). You can also download a leaflet giving advice on, "Smoking shelters" (file size 195 KB).
The web site of the Greater Nottingham NHS Stop Smoking Service contains a wealth of information, free advice and support to those who want to give up smoking and can be visited at http://www.nottinghamhearthealth.nhs.uk/smoking
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