Tobacco

Scottish Tobacco Retailer Register

The Scottish Tobacco Retailers Register was introduced by the Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Act 2010[26]. The Register was introduced because international experience had shown that age restrictions on the sale of tobacco products were more difficult to enforce effectively without licensing[27]. The Register allows retailers to be clearly identified without the introduction of a full licensing scheme. It also enables Trading Standards officers and others to offer advice and support to them to avoid illegal sales.

Retailers who sell e-cigarettes and refills, in addition to tobacco products, are already required by law to register because they sell tobacco. However, there is no way of knowing which retailers on the Tobacco Register also sell e-cigarettes. There is an increasing number of independent shops, pop-up kiosks, pharmacies and other outlets which sell e-cigarettes but not tobacco.

If an age restriction for e-cigarettes is introduced, it will be necessary to enforce this measure in a higher number and diverse range of available outlets than is currently the case for tobacco products. Including e-cigarettes and e-cigarette refills on the Register would assist with advice, support and enforcement of measures, such as the introduction of an e-cigarette age restriction. Recognising that the name of the register may need to change, this would mean that retailers who are already registered to sell tobacco products would be required to update their registration, if they also sell e-cigarettes. Any other e-cigarette retailers would be required to register their premises.

The offence of selling e-cigarettes without registration, or an updated registration, will be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £20,000, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, or both. This is in line with the offence for selling tobacco products without being registered.

E-cigarettes – use in enclosed public spaces in Scotland

Smoking in public places is banned under the Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Act 2005[28]. E-cigarettes are not covered by this legislation; however, a number of public and private sector organisations including work places, public transport, hotels, universities and others have introduced voluntary bans on e-cigarettes to bring their policies into line with legislation on tobacco.

The Scottish Government are aware that there are many views on whether to legislate for where e-cigarettes may be used[29] [30] . Public Health experts around the world are divided on the long-term health impacts of e-cigarettes and whether there is a risk to others from second-hand vapour.

There is concern amongst some experts that e-cigarettes may re-normalise smoking-like behaviours which have been made socially unacceptable and that they could undermine existing smoke-free legislation implemented in Scotland in 2006. This concern could increase as e-cigarette products come on the market that vaporise tobacco. Environmental Health officers have responsibility for enforcing current smoke-free legislation. The Royal Environmental Health Institute for Scotland (REHIS) and the British Medical Association have recently called on the Scottish Government to ban the use of e-cigarettes in enclosed public places.

The Scottish Government recognise that there is not yet sufficient evidence to fully understand: the potential impact of e-cigarettes on existing smoke-free legislation; whether or not second-hand vapour may be harmful to bystanders; or the long-term health impacts for users. We also acknowledge that individual organisations and service providers can already act to include e-cigarettes in their own HR policies or apply rules on their use on the premises, such as pubs, clubs and public transport.

The Scottish Government remains open-minded about what, if any, intervention is necessary on the use of e-cigarettes in indoor spaces. While we are clear that there are no plans to legislate at this time, we would like to invite views, suggestions and evidence that you think should be considered for longer term policy development. These could include:

No action;
Scottish Government actively supports and encourages individual organisations to agree their own policies on the restriction of e-cigarettes;
Scottish Government consults with organisations to develop national guidance;
Consider amending current smoke-free legislation to include e-cigarettes, which would mean they could not be used in any significantly enclosed public area;
Consider legislation to ban e-cigarette use in designated public spaces (for example, those frequented most by children and families); or
Consider a ban on use of certain e-cigarette products in enclosed public spaces (for example, those which include tobacco or look most like and behave most like traditional tobacco products).

Tobacco Control in Scotland

The Scottish Government is determined to see Scotland remain at the forefront of those countries around the world committed to bold action to reduce the harm caused by tobacco. Reducing smoking prevalence to 5% or lower will make an important contribution to reducing health inequalities. We have been clear about our ambition to create a tobacco-free Scotland and we remain committed to introducing the necessary measures that will help us achieve our goal.

However, until we realise our vision of a smoke-free Scotland, we must continue to protect people from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke (smoke caused by someone else smoking tobacco) and promote the health, safety, comfort, convenience, and welfare of society by supporting smoke-free environments.

In 2006, Scotland was the first country in the UK to introduce legislation to ban smoking in enclosed public spaces. Implementation of the legislation has been accompanied by very high levels of compliance. Evaluations have shown a significant reduction in exposure to second-hand smoke in public places and a range of positive health outcomes including: reduced heart attack admissions to hospital, reduced childhood asthma admissions to hospital and fewer premature births[31]. More generally, the legislation has also helped raise awareness and understanding of the impacts of second-hand smoke.

Despite the clear public health benefits that smoke-free legislation has delivered, the harms from second-hand smoke remain. Doctors say second-hand smoke in the UK accounts for over 300,000 consultations a year with children. Children exposed to second-hand smoke at home are more at risk of coughs, colds, ear problems, chest infections, wheezing, asthma, phlegm, breathlessness and poorer lung function. Every year, 9,500 children in Britain are admitted to hospital because of the effects of second-hand smoke[32].

We want Scotland to be the best place in the world for children to grow up. Scottish Ministers have introduced legislation to ensure that every child and young person should be safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, responsible, respected and included. We therefore have an obligation to protect children from risks to their life and health caused by exposure to environmental tobacco smoke[34]. Growing up in a smoke-free environment is an important part of that. While existing legislation goes some way towards achieving this, cars and homes remain significant sources of exposure to second-hand smoke, particularly for children as they have less control over their environment. Where children are medically at risk, due to conditions such as asthma, the harmful effects of second-hand smoke can be especially severe.

Earlier this year, we announced our ambition to reduce the number of children exposed to second-hand smoke in Scotland to 6% by 2020. This is the first such target in the world. Our most recent social marketing campaign, Take it Right Outside, supports this ambition.[35] The aim of this campaign was to raise awareness of the risks of second-hand smoke to children and to encourage people who smoke to keep their homes and cars smoke free.

The harm caused by second-hand smoke is clear. We know that children who live with parents or siblings who smoke are up to 3 times more likely to become smokers themselves than children of non-smoking households[36]. It is therefore essential that children are not only protected from exposure to second-hand smoke but that measures are taken to protect them from behaviours which could establish smoking as the ‘norm’.

Smoking in Cars carrying children aged under 18

When someone smokes in a car, the harmful chemicals in second-hand smoke reach dangerously high levels very quickly. Exposure to second-hand smoke in cars is harmful to all occupants, but especially to children because they breathe faster than adults, have smaller airways and their immune systems are not fully developed[37].

As many as 60,000 children in Scotland may be exposed to second-hand smoke within a car each week[38].

Our Strategy committed to monitoring the impact of efforts to reduce children’s exposure to second-hand smoke to inform future steps. An initial evaluation of our Take it Right Outside campaign showed an increased awareness that smoking in a car with children is harmful and that some people have taken action to stop smoking in cars. However, it also suggests that more needs to be done to promote behaviour change amongst Scotland’s heaviest smokers[39].

Last year, Jim Hume, MSP and Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson, consulted on proposals to ban smoking in cars with children. He received strong support for this proposal from those who responded to the consultation and from within the Scottish Parliament[40]. A recent survey also suggests that 75% of adults in Scotland support a ban on smoking in cars when children and young people aged under 18 are present[41].

Proposals to introduce such legislation in England and Wales are well underway. It is our belief that legislation to ban smoking in cars with children should also be introduced in Scotland on public health grounds.

Our proposal is that it would be an offence for anyone aged 18 and over to smoke in a car while carrying a child or young person who is under the age of 18. Police Scotland may be best placed to enforce this legislation; they enforce the law on travelling in a car without a seatbelt[42] and driving whilst using a mobile phone. The offence will result in a fixed penalty notice of £100[43] or will be referred to court.

Resources

Notes

26. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2010/3/contents

27. scottish.parliament.uk/S3_Bills/Tobacco%20and%20Primary%20Medical%20Services%20(Scotland)%20Bill/b22s3-intro-pm.pdf

28. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2005/13/contents

29. public-health expert letter to WHO 2

30. public health expert – letter to WHO 1

31. https://www.healthscotland.com/scotlands-health/evidence/smokefreelegislation/publications.aspx

32. https://www.ash.org.uk/files/documents/ASH_596.pdf

33. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2014/8/contents/enacted

34. See for example UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment no. 4: adolescent health, 1 July 2003, UN Doc. CRC/GC/2003/4, para 10.

35. www.rightoutside.org

36. Leonardi-Bee J, Jere ML, Britton J. Exposure to parental and sibling smoking and the risk of smoking uptake in childhood and adolsecence: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

37. https://www.ashscotland.org.uk/media/5637/ASHScotland_smoking_in_vehicles_April2013.pdf

38. Submission from the Respiratory Group at the University of Aberdeen to the consultation on the Proposed Smoking (Children in Vehicles) (Scotland) Bill – https://jimhume.org/en/document/consultation-responses#document

39. https://www.scotland.gov.uk/topics/health/services/smoking

40. scottish.parliament.uk/S4_MembersBills/Proposed_Smoking_(Children_in_Vehicles)_(Scotland)_Bill_Summary.pdf

41. YG-Archive-140314-ASH-Scotland

42. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/14?view=extent

43. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2000/2792/schedule/made