Businesses encouraged to prepare for new tobacco display rules

Newsagents, pubs, clubs and shops across the UK have been reminded of the need to prepare for new laws that will stop them from displaying tobacco products in April 2015.

With five months left to go before the legislation comes into effect, the Department of Health has called on affected businesses to begin getting ready to ensure their displays comply with the new rules.

The ending of open displays of tobacco in supermarkets has already come into effect. The law does not limit availability, but will make the harmful products less visible, thus reducing temptation to take up the habit.

It comes as part of wider efforts to reduce the number of smokers in the UK, which also include making it illegal to buy tobacco for under-18s or to smoke in cars carrying children.

Public health minister Jane Ellison said: "Eye-catching displays of colourful cigarette packets can encourage young people to start smoking and undermine the resolve of adults who are trying to quit."

Recent government figures show that smokers accounted for only 18.4 percent of the population as of 2013 – an all-time low.