More Retailers Oppose Display Bans

PRESS RELEASE – 7 February 2008

The Stay Displays Coalition of New Zealand retailers continues to grow with more than 100 dairy and convenience store owners putting their names to the organisation as it fights proposed bans on tobacco displays.

“Over a hundred retailers so far have added their names to the Stay Displays website and we have collected thousands of signatures from voters opposed to banning displays,” Murray Gibson, a tobacco retailer from Timaru, says.

“Claims that having tobacco products on display actually makes people take up smoking is absolutely absurd. The same logic was used against having wine displays in supermarkets and it’s shown not to be true.”

“Having chocolate on display doesn’t turn people obese!” he said.

Anti-retailing, anti-tobacco organisations are today hosting a two-hour breakfast seminar at the plush Turnbull House in Wellington for MPs and supporters to release so-called “new research,” on which they spend hundreds of thousands of taxpayers’ dollars each year, and increase support for their ludicrous suggestions. Stay Displays understands that this research is likely to be more of the same behavioural claims they have made to the Government over the last few years and no real scientific research.

“These anti-tobacco groups receive millions of taxpayer dollars each year to convince the Government it should make further regulations to tobacco. The fact is the only people who will be affected by these proposals will be New Zealand’s community-based, family-owned retailers,” Mr Gibson said.

The simple fact is that if tobacco displays are banned, it will cost retailers to change the outlay of their shops, increase security concerns when retailers turn their backs on customers and have no effect on tobacco consumption rates.

“Rather than make retailers change their lives and their work, these groups should focus on stopping smoking – through education and enforcement,” he said.

ENDS

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