Retailer licensing and tobacco display compliance: are some retailers more likely to flout regulations?

Abstract

Some tobacco retailers did not list their business details with the government as required, even though there was no financial cost to do so. Unlisted retailers were more likely to violate in-store regulations. The results suggest licensing schemes can be useful for providing a list of retailers, thus facilitating enforcement, but require a system to search for, and respond to, unlisted/unlicensed retailers.

To sell or not to sell: cigarette sales in alcohol-licenced premises

“…More than 80% of retailers reported that the nearest cigarette retailer was within 1 km, which is consistent with a previous study reporting high density of tobacco retailers in NSW 22. This evidence of the ubiquity of alternative providers suggests that stopping tobacco sales at outlets where alcohol is consumed—through changes to either liquor licencing and/or tobacco retailing legislation—would probably not result in significant inconvenience to smokers.…”

“…NSW has what is sometimes called a ‘negative licensing scheme’ 22. This means that a retailer can lose their right to sell tobacco if they are repeatedly convicted of violating retail regulations, but there are no other limitations on who can sell and no licence fee 23…”

Tobacco retail density: still the new frontier in tobacco control

“…Not only are tobacco retailers more numerous in low income neighbourhoods, tobacco retailers in disadvantaged areas are also less likely to comply with regulations regarding the retail display, sale, and promotion of tobacco in stores 7 . Populations at greatest risk of taking up smoking, continuing to smoke, and suffering from the health effects of smoking are therefore not only exposed to more retailers, but are also afforded the least protection by tobacco control laws.…”

Slapped with a fine or a slap on the wrist? Enforcing tobacco licensing legislation

“…There are only limited data on compliance with tobacco regulations,7–10 but one study in New South Wales (NSW), the largest state in Australia, found that 6.9% of audited retailers failed to comply with the state’s legislative requirement that retailers be registered to sell tobacco 11. The study also estimated that tobacco retailers would only be visited, on average, once every 3.2 years, and found no evidence that any NSW tobacco retailer had been prohibited from selling tobacco due to non-compliance with tobacco retailing laws within 6 years of their inception 11. This is despite government data that found that 4% of outlets did not comply with prohibitions on sales to minors 12.…”

“…This is despite government data that found that 4% of outlets did not comply with prohibitions on sales to minors 12. As a percentage of the estimated number of retailers in NSW (9597),11 that would mean that around 385 (0.04×9597) retailers have been found to sell cigarettes to minors but are still allowed to sell tobacco. If tobacco retailers do not believe that they face a significant chance of being prosecuted for violating tobacco laws, or of receiving a significant penalty if they do so, then those regulations are likely to be violated more often.…”