TOBACCO LICENCES A KNEEJERK REACTION AND MISSED OPPORTUNITY

August 15, 2013

The introduction of licences to sell tobacco products in New South Wales would represent a kneejerk reaction and a missed opportunity to actually improve health outcomes, according to the Australasian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS).

Responding to reports in which Cancer Council NSW and the NSW Greens call for increased regulation into the retail of tobacco through mandatory licensing, AACS Chief Executive Officer Jeff Rogut said a more balanced perspective that encompasses health concerns as well as small business realities is necessary.

“Time and again it is retailers at the coal face of calls for regulatory change that are left to bear the financial consequences of ill considered and misdirected policy,” Mr Rogut said.

“Requiring small businesses to apply and pay for licences to sell a legal product adds another layer of red tape that has real financial consequences for those businesses at a time when competitive challenges have never been greater.

“The fact remains that tobacco is a legal product that represents an important revenue stream for convenience stores, small businesses which are typically operated by families and which employ thousands of people state wide.

“Interestingly, it’s also an important revenue stream for the Government, as we have seen yet again with the huge excise hikes recently announced.

“It is particularly concerning to read that a body as reputable as Cancer Council NSW claims to know that ‘the mere sight of a retailer’ can trigger the urge to smoke among some people. Such an outrageous and erroneous claim based on nonsense does nothing to improve health outcomes in the community.

“The best way to reduce the incidence of smoking is education and it’s time Government and the health lobby addressed their reticence to this obvious solution and their responsibilities in this regard.

“Spending some of the money received through tobacco taxes in this area would be a start, while allowing quit smoking medications to be sold in convenience stores would represent another positive solution.

“At what point does targeting one section of the community, small business, as the supposed answer to a health issue become too much?

“Tobacco is already out of sight and in plain packaging, the change to which has already had some vast financial ramifications for retailers in terms of operational issues. Adding a licence requirement only exacerbates the heavy red tape burden these small businesses must contend with.

“The AACS strongly urges the NSW Government to provide the necessary support for small businesses in the state and commit to reducing, not increasing, the regulatory burden on this section of the community,” Mr Rogut said.