25 June 2002

MARY MULLIGAN ANNOUNCES TEST AREAS TO CRACK DOWN ON UNDERAGE TOBACCO SALES

The use of children to catch shopkeepers selling cigarettes to underage
children is to be tested in four areas across Scotland, Deputy Health
Minister Mary Mulligan announced today.

After extensive consultation the Lord Advocate, Colin Boyd QC, has allowed
a pilot scheme which would allow criminal proceedings to be based on evidence
obtained through the use of children in test purchasing of age restricted
goods.
 
Four pilot areas have been chosen - Edinburgh, Moray, Stirling and South
Ayrshire. The results will give a picture across Scotland's geographical
make-up. The areas are:

* Edinburgh - large urban area;
* Moray - rural area;
* South Ayrshire - geographic mix with proof of age card; and
* Stirling - geographic mix without proof of age card.
 
The pilots will be restricted to tobacco products although the result will
have a read across to other age-restricted goods e.g. alcohol.
 
Announcing the pilots Mary Mulligan said:
 
"All the evidence shows that smoking kills and that tobacco is one of the
major causes of ill health in Scotland. Stopping young people  smoking - or
taking up the habit in the first place - remains a central part of our wide
ranging measures to reduce the impact of smoking in Scotland. 
 
"Nicotine is very addictive and evidence shows that the vast majority of
youngsters who take up smoking in their teens will continue to smoke
throughout their adult life.
 
"Anyone who sells cigarettes to young people is part of that problem. The
law is clear - underage sales are illegal. That is why better enforcement,
better education, health promotion, and new initiatives like proof of age
cards all have a part to play as part of that solution.
 
"I am pleased that these four authorities will now be able to pilot working
with young people to use test purchasing to catch out the minority of rogue
traders in the retail sector who prey on our young people for profit.
 
"The involvement of young people is not an alternative to existing
enforcement measures, but it is a valuable extra weapon in the armoury.
 
"I believe that the measures will be widely welcomed by all those with an
interest in protecting our young people. I also believe that the vast
majority of retailers will back this new approach. Honest law-abiding
shopkeepers are already working to good practice codes and will have
nothing to fear."
 
Sanctions against retailers who sell to underage children could include:

* guidance from Trading Standards Officers to prevent the sale of age
restricted goods
 
* follow-up visit to check progress; and
 
* ultimately a report to the Procurator Fiscal and possible prosecution.
 
The work has been taken forward through the Tobacco Strategy Group in
consultation with key interests including the Crown Office, COSLA and
Scottish Chief Officers for Trading Standards (SCOTSS) ASH and the Scottish
Retail Consortium.
 
The strategy group will over see all aspects of the pilot including the
development of protocols and evaluation of the pilots.
 
The guidance will be important in ensuring that the pilot and test purchase
arrangements are robust. They will prioritise the safety and interest of
the child and put arrangements in place for obtaining evidence. The
guidance will be based on existing protocols use for test purchasing in
England.
 
Leaflets will be sent to retailers to explain the importance of preventing
underage sales and alerting traders  to the fact that test purchasing will
be taking place in their area. The pilots will be publicised late summer
with test purchasing starting in the autumn.