Press Release
Half of Shetland’s tobacco sellers still to register
The Council’s Trading Standards Service is running a campaign to remind tobacco sellers in Shetland that they have just two weeks to get their names on the Government’s tobacco register. So far, only half of the tobacco retailers in Shetland have signed up.
David Marsh, Trading Standards Manager with the Council, said: “From the 1st of October 2011, any business that wants to sell tobacco products must be registered.
“After that date, it will be a criminal offence for an unregistered business to sell tobacco products. Unfortunately, despite the fact that the scheme has been open since April, only just over half of Shetland’s tobacco retailers are on the register so far. We want to help retailers to get registered, as part of the drive to prevent young people in Shetland from buying tobacco products. So, we’re running a bit of publicity over the next couple of weeks and are offering as much practical help as possible.”
Registrations can be done through the www.tobaccoregisterscotland.org website, or retailers can contact the Scottish Government on 0131 244 2169 or Trading Standards to get a paper form.
Trading Standards recommend that businesses which have submitted registration requests check the public register at www.tobaccoregisterscotland.org to make sure that they are properly registered.
For more advice on registration, to ask any other question about the sale of tobacco products, or to pass on information about sales to young people, visit www.shetland.gov.uk/tradingstandards, email trading.standards@shetland.gov.uk, call 01595 744887 or contact Trading Standards at the Council’s Grantfield offices.
Mr Marsh added: “It is of course illegal for people under 18 to buy tobacco products, or for an adult to buy tobacco products for someone under age. Any information given to Trading Standards will be treated in the strictest confidence, and it could help to protect our young people from an addiction which kills over 190,000 people and costs the NHS approximately £1.5 billion every year.”