Section 14 – Presumption as to contents of container
50.Section 14 of the Act amends section 33 (presumption as to contents of container) of the 2010 Act. This section of the 2010 Act currently contains a presumption in prosecutions for displaying tobacco products (and smoking related products) or for selling tobacco to persons under 18. The presumption is that the contents of a container are what would be expected given the packaging. The presumption can be rebutted by the accused or another party in a trial. As amended by the Act, the presumption now applies in the case of the following offences—
selling a tobacco product to a person under the age of 18 (section 4),
selling a NVP to a person under the age of 18 (section 4A),
failing to operate an age verification policy (section 4B),
allowing the sale of a tobacco product or NVP by an unauthorised person under 18 (section 4C),
purchasing of tobacco by a person under 18 (section 5),
purchasing a tobacco product or NVP on behalf of a person under 18 (section 6 and 6A),
managing or controlling premises on which a tobacco vending machine is available for use (section 9).
