Thursday 18 February 2010

Smoking Ban Driving A Surge In Tobacco Sales

Oh dear.

Tobacco makes a comeback in convenience

The squeeze on consumer spending and new anti-smoking laws could actually have helped boost tobacco sales in local shops in the past 12 months, Convenience Store’s latest product survey has revealed.

Some 27% of the independent c-store retailers surveyed said that tobacco was their best performing product category of 2009 – up from 23% the previous year.

Retailers have attributed the rise to factors including the ban on smoking in public places, which has reduced sales in pubs and clubs as more people buy from stores to smoke at home.

Confectionery was rated the top-performing category of 2009, with a quarter of retailers saying they expected tobacco to take over the top spot in 2010.
What was that you were saying about halving smokers by 2020, Burnham?


8 comments:

manwiddicombe said...

The falling exchange rate and the fire in the EuroTunnel (which hiked day trip ferry prices up to over £100 for a while) will also have had an effect on sales in this country.

Personally I've not done a fag run to Belgium for over 12 months for exactly those reasons and I've resorted to buying UK priced smokes instead.

Mark Wadsworth said...

I'm disappointed now - it appears that shops are only selling more because pubs are selling less (or fewer?). But at least this shenanigans has saved Big Tobacco a fortune in advertising costs, which has the added advantage of raising barriers to entry.

Dick Puddlecote said...

MW: Exactly why Philip Morris enthusiastically backed plans by the FDA on tobacco control in the US. It effectively eliminated new entrants to their market.

The tobacco display ban will do the same over here when implemented. Established Big Tobacco are rubbing their hands in glee.

Anti-smokers couldn't be more fucking stupid if they tried. :-)

Anonymous said...

My wife and I once frequented a
Robinsons(Stockport)pub 7 nights
a week, myself 4-5 pints of bitter,
my wife 4-5 halves of mild.
Cigs from the corner shop,the occasional take away and taxis to
and fro. Just the job for the local
economy.
.......After July 07.............
We dont go to the pub,we drink
cheap german imported beer at home ,we smoke only Cigs bought
abroad ,the trips easily financed
from staying in ,we dont use the taxis and we get our curries from
LIDLs.**. Some idiots thought the
ban would only hit a few pubs
Worse still, some clowns blame
the recession

** Approximate loss to Exchequer
since July 07 circa £18---20000
Just one couple

Keep the good work up,politicians
as long as the under 60s get the bill

Cheers ....War Baby

Anonymous said...

Unbelievable,are there some dipsticks still going into pubs
AND buying fags at British prices.
What a load of silly Billies




Ruby Tuesday

JuliaM said...

Ahhh, those unintended consequences...

Neal Asher said...

The only people who can afford to buy cigarettes at UK prices are the cigarette smugglers. The bansturbators never heard of Prohibition.

John Pickworth said...

Here's a good one for you ;-)

Blackpool Gazette: Shock figures for teenage smoking

Jane Roberts, head of tobacco control with NHS Blackpool, said the figures – which relate to 2009 – were shocking.

Mrs Roberts said tackling the problem needed a two-pronged attack and she said work was already being carried out.

She said: "First we need to get fewer adults smoking and make it more difficult for people to smoke – for example banning smoking in cars to make it less 'normal' to smoke.

"We also need to stop the easy access to cheap tobacco, making it more difficult for people to get hold of and more expensive."


Mmmmm, so the ban hasn't worked? Ooooh lets ban it some more! They're never going to give up until smoking everywhere is illegal.