Health Act 2009

Health Act 2009

2009 CHAPTER 21

Commentary on Sections

Part 3 – Miscellaneous

Tobacco

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.