Tobacco
Section 20: Prohibition of advertising: exclusion for specialist tobacconists
270.Section 20 amends section 6 of the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002 (“the 2002 Act”) (specialist tobacconists) by inserting a new subsection (A1) at the beginning of that section. This new subsection gives the Secretary of State (in relation to England), the Welsh Ministers (in relation to Wales), and DHSSPSNI (in relation to Northern Ireland) power to provide that specialist tobacconists do not commit an offence under section 2 of the 2002 Act (prohibition of tobacco advertising) if a tobacco advertisement on their premises meets certain requirements (including those to be set out in regulations). This power replaces, except in relation to Scotland, an automatic exclusion for specialist tobacconists currently provided by section 6(1) of the 2002 Act. Accordingly, paragraph 3 of Schedule 4 amends section 6(1) of the 2002 Act to limit its application to Scotland.
Section 21: Prohibition of tobacco displays etc.
271.Section 8 of the 2002 Act (displays) gives the Secretary of State power to impose requirements on the display in England, Wales and Northern Ireland of tobacco products or their prices in a place or on a website where such products are offered for sale. Section 21 inserts new sections 7A to 7D into the 2002 Act, which replace section 8 in so far as it relates to England, Wales and Northern Ireland (it will continue to have effect in its existing form for Scotland).
272.The new section 7A (prohibition of tobacco displays) makes it an offence for a person, in the course of a business, to display tobacco products, or cause tobacco products to be displayed, in a place in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland. It also provides powers for the appropriate Minister to provide by regulations for the meaning of “place” and whether a display, which also amounts to an advertisement, is to be treated as a display, or whether it is to be treated as an advertisement, for the purposes of offences under the 2002 Act. For the purposes of the new sections 7A to 7D, the “appropriate Minister” means the Secretary of State in relation to England, the Welsh Ministers in relation to Wales, and DHSSPSNI in relation to Northern Ireland.
273.The new section 7B (tobacco displays: exclusions and defence) provides for a number of exclusions from the new section 7A prohibition on tobacco displays. The exclusions cover: displays in the course of a business which is part of the tobacco trade which are for the purposes of that trade and are accessible only to persons engaged in, or employed in, the tobacco trade; and, displays made following a particular request by an individual of at least 18 years of age to purchase, or for information about, a tobacco product (a requested display). The appropriate Minister is also given a general power to provide in regulations that no offence is committed under the new section 7A if the display complies with any requirements which are specified in the regulations. New section 7B(5) provides that for the purposes of the offence of making a display to an individual aged under 18 following a request by that individual, it is a defence that the person making the display believed the individual was 18 or over, and either that person had taken all reasonable steps to establish the individual’s age or from the individual’s appearance nobody could reasonably have suspected that the individual was aged under 18.. Section 7B(6) provides that a person is treated as having taken all reasonable steps to establish an individual’s age only if they had asked the individual for evidence of their age and the evidence produced would have convinced a reasonable person. It is a defence for a person charged with causing a requested display to an individual aged under 18 that they exercised all due diligence to avoid committing the offence (new section 7B(7)).
274.The new section 7C (displays: prices of tobacco products) gives the appropriate Minister power by regulations to impose requirements in relation to the display, in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland (as the case may be) in the course of a business, of prices of tobacco products (subsection (1)). A person who displays or causes to be displayed, prices of tobacco products in breach of any such requirements is guilty of an offence (subsection (2)). New section 7C(3) provides that the regulations may in particular provide for the meaning of “place” and new section 7C(4) that the regulations may make provision for a display which is also an advertisement to be treated for the purposes of offences in England and Wales or Northern Ireland under the Act as an advertisement and not as a display of prices or as a display of prices and not an advertisement.
275.The new section 7D (displays on a website) replaces section 8(1) of the 2002 Act in relation to England and Wales and Northern Ireland, in so far as it applies to websites. It provides power for the Secretary of State by regulations to impose requirements in relation to the display in England and Wales, or Northern Ireland, in the course of a business of tobacco products or their prices on a website where tobacco products are offered for sale.
276.New section 7D makes it an offence to display, or cause to be displayed, tobacco products or their prices in breach of any requirements imposed by regulations (subsection (2)), except where this is in the course of providing information society services by a person established outside the United Kingdom (subsection (4)). A person established in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland who, in the course of providing information society services, does anything in another EEA state which would constitute an offence under new section 7D(2) is also guilty of an offence (new section 7D(3)). For these purposes “EEA state” includes member states of the European Union, as well as Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. New section 7D (5) provides that the regulations may provide for a relevant display of tobacco products or their prices which also amounts to an advertisement to be treated for the purposes of offences in England and Wales or Northern Ireland under this Act to be treated as an advertisement and not as a display or as a display and not an advertisement. Under new section 7D(5) a relevant display means a display on a website where tobacco products are offered for sale.
Section 22: Power to prohibit sales from vending machines
277.Subsection (1) of Section 22 inserts a new section 3A (sales from vending machines in England and Wales) into the Children and Young Persons (Protection from Tobacco) Act 1991 (“the 1991 Act). New section 3A provides power for the appropriate national authority (defined as the Secretary of State in relation to England, and the Welsh Ministers in relation to Wales) by regulations to prohibit the sale of tobacco from vending machines.
278.The regulations must include provision as to the persons who are liable for a breach of a prohibition. Where a prohibition contained in the regulations is breached, any person liable in accordance with the regulations is guilty of an offence punishable with a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale (currently £2,500). Subsection (5) of the new section 3A applies sections 13 (enforcement), 14 (powers of entry, etc) and 15 (offences of obstruction, etc of officers) of the 2002 Act for the purposes of the new section. Section 13 of the 2002 Act sets out the authorities who will be responsible for enforcing any prohibition; section 14 sets out the powers of entry which enforcement officers may exercise; and section 15 makes obstructing an officer of an enforcement body, or making false statements to an officer, an offence.
279.Subsection (2) of section 22 inserts a new paragraph (c) into section 12D(1) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 (restricted premises orders and restricted sales orders: interpretation). This extends the definition of “tobacco offence” for the purposes of sections 12A and 12B of that Act to include an offence committed under the new section 3A of the 1991 Act. The effect of this is to enable a magistrates’ court to impose a restricted premises order or a restricted sales order in response to breaches of the new section 3A, where the conditions for imposing such orders are met. Under sections 12A and 12B if three “tobacco offences” are committed within a period of two years, and if the last of them led to a conviction, then the offender or the relevant premises may be banned from selling tobacco products for up to one year.
Section 23: Power to prohibit sales from vending machines: Northern Ireland
280.Section 23 inserts a new Article 4A into the Children and Young Persons (Protection from Tobacco) (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 (“the 1991 (NI) Order”).. New Article 4A makes equivalent provision for Northern Ireland to that made for England and Wales by the new section 3A inserted in the 1991 Act by Section 22.
Section 24 and Schedule 4: Tobacco: minor and consequential amendments
281.Section 24 gives effect to Schedule 4. Schedule 4 makes various minor and consequential amendments. These amendments include—
limiting the application of sections 6(1) and 8 of the 2002 Act to Scotland;
limiting the power of the Secretary of State under section 13(5) of the 2002 Act to take over the conduct of proceedings to proceedings in relation to offences committed in England and giving power to the Welsh Ministers to take over the conduct of proceedings in relation to offences committed in Wales;
amending the definition of “appropriate Minister” for the purposes of the 2002 Act, to confer powers on the Welsh Ministers and DHSSPSNI to make regulations in relation to the new provisions about specialist tobacconists and displays and to transfer to them existing powers under section 4(3) of the 2002 Act (power to provide for exclusions from the section 2 prohibition on tobacco advertising); and
provision for the procedure to be adopted in relation to regulations made by the Welsh Ministers and DHSSPSNI under the provisions of the 2002 Act as amended by the Act.
282.Schedule 4 also amends section 8 (displays), section 9 (prohibition of free distribution), section 11 (brandsharing) of, and the Schedule (information society providers) to, the 2002 Act to give full effect to Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and Council of 8th June 2000 on certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the Internal Market (Directive on electronic commerce). It also repeals section 16(1A) of the 2002 Act (limitation of penalties for certain offences relating to information society services) to bring the penalties for offences covered by that provision into line with the penalties which apply generally for offences under the 2002 Act.
