(1)No offence is committed under section 7A if—
(a)the tobacco products are displayed in the course of a business which is part of the tobacco trade,
(b)they are displayed for the purposes of that trade, and
(c)the display is accessible only to persons who are engaged in, or employed by, a business which is also part of that trade.
(2)No offence is committed under section 7A if the display is a requested display to an individual aged 18 or over.
(3)The appropriate Minister may provide in regulations that no offence is committed under section 7A if the display complies with requirements specified in the regulations.
(4)Subsections (5) and (7) apply where a person (“D”) is charged with an offence under section 7A in a case where the display is a requested display to an individual aged under 18.
(5)Where D is charged by reason of D having displayed the tobacco product it is a defence that—
(a)D believed that the individual was aged 18 or over, and
(b)either—
(i)D had taken all reasonable steps to establish the individual's age, or
(ii)from the individual's appearance nobody could reasonably have suspected that the individual was aged under 18.
(6)For the purposes of subsection (5), a person is treated as having taken all reasonable steps to establish an individual's age if—
(a)the person asked the individual for evidence of the individual's age, and
(b)the evidence would have convinced a reasonable person.
(7)Where D is charged by reason of D having caused the display of the tobacco product it is a defence that D exercised all due diligence to avoid committing the offence.
(8) In this section “ a requested display ” means a display to an individual following a particular request by the individual to purchase a tobacco product, or for information about a tobacco product. ]
Textual Amendments
F1Ss. 7A-7D inserted (12.11.2009 for specified purposes, 6.4.2012 for E. for specified purposes, 31.10.2012 for N.I. for specified purposes) by Health Act 2009 (c. 21), ss. 21, 40(1), 40(6)(b); S.I. 2010/1068, art. 2(1A)(a) (as amended (9.5.2011) by S.I. 2011/1255, art. 2(a)(b)); S.R. 2012/389, art. 2(1)(a)