Prosecutions Pending for Sale of Cigarettes

21.5.07

Prosecutions Pending for Sale of Cigarettes to Minors

Recent monitoring checks on tobacco retailers in Christchurch have resulted in two premises facing pending prosecutions for selling to teenagers under the age of 18 years.

“The law is there for a reason. Very few people start smoking over the age of 18, so preventing sales to minors saves lives” says Medical Officer of Health, Dr Alistair Humphrey. “If premises sell tobacco products, it is their responsibility not to sell to underage people. Clearly not all retailers are complying with the law and these retailers run the risk of prosecution.”

If a retailer is in doubt as to a young person’s age, or if the young person looks younger than 25, they should always ask for identification when tobacco is sold.

Sales to minors have been found to happen most often when family members or friends of shop owners are helping out at a shop.

“It can be difficult to assess the age of teenagers. It is therefore important not only to ask a person’s age but to require some proof in the form of photo identification” says Dr Humphrey. “If relatives or friends are helping out in a shop, they need to be supervised so that they can be prevented from selling cigarettes to minors, or alternatively they should refer all tobacco product sales to someone with more experience.”

Retailers and their staff also need to be vigilant in checking the identification of young people who want to purchase cigarettes.
Monitoring checks will continue around Christchurch and Canterbury to make sure that retailers continue to obey the law. Retailers who are caught selling tobacco products to people under the age of 18 will face prosecution.

The maximum penalty for selling tobacco to minors is $2,000, while repeat offenders may be ordered not to sell tobacco products for up to three months.

ENDS

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