It’s official - turkeys DO vote for Christmas!

You couldn’t make it up.

According to a poll conducted by ASH and reported by Sky News among others, shopkeepers ‘support increasing the age for buying tobacco from 18 to 21 in the UK and introducing mandatory ID for under 25s’.

Furthermore:

When asked whether tobacco manufacturers should have to pay a government fee to support people quitting and avoiding smoking, 73% agreed that they should.

Against that, the same poll of 961 small tobacco retailers found that 51% said their overall profits are reliant on the revenue from tobacco products. Moreover:

Although most shopkeepers agreed that cigarettes themselves do not make much profit in comparison to other items, stocking it does help increase the chances of the customer buying additional products.

So let me get this right. We’re expected to believe that small shopkeepers, many struggling financially, are happy to reduce their potential customer base by supporting a ban on the sale of a legal product to adults aged 18-20 when over half admit that their overall profits are reliant on the revenue from tobacco products.

As for supporting a tobacco levy to ‘help’ people quit, was it pointed out to the shopkeepers that the reason previous governments have rejected the idea is because it’s well known that the cost would simply be passed on to the consumer, making cigarettes even more prohibitively expensive.

The knock on effect for retailers isn’t hard to guess.

One, they will either be forced to cut down or quit smoking or, two, more smokers will buy their cigarettes not from legitimate retailers but from the unregulated black market.

Either way retailers will lose revenue that could be the difference between staying in business or closing.

And on top of all that, we are led to believe that shopkeepers support mandatory ID for anyone under 25 (not 18 or 21 anymore) with all the hassle and retraining of staff that may entail.

In short, if we are to believe this poll, turkeys DO vote for Christmas!

Comments

[Pat Nurse]

Remember when ASH did so called research that said all pubs wanted a smoking ban for "a level playing field"?

They were right of course, so many were equally put out of business and levelled to the ground for housing estates as a direct result of forcing a smoking ban on them all when it was clear that the only people who thought a ban would be good for business were the delusional propagandists at ASH and their partners in the anti smoker industry. Now all that is left are awful restaurants that are devoid of atmosphere, littered with children watching how to ask for alcohol, and how to enjoy it, while serving mostly overpriced rubbish food.

Now they are committed to put small shops out of business too. Shame on them and shame on any idiot who believes their made up nonsense designed purely for political effect to push forward that ideological world where smokers cannot be seen or heard because, as we know, smoking will continue and probably because the likes of ASH depend on it for their salaries and funding as much as the tobacco industry and small shops need it for profit.