APPROXIMATELY ONE-THIRD of minors are illegally able to purchase cigarettes from retailers, a new study has found.
The National Tobacco Retail Audit – 2009 Monitoring Report, published today, examined compliance by retailers with regard to legislation on the sale of cigarettes to minors.
It concluded that children have “an unacceptably high chance” of purchasing cigarettes through shops and licensed premises.
The study carried out by the Office of Tobacco Control found almost one-third of shopkeepers were disregarding laws that prohibit the sale of cigarettes to minors.
More than a third of licensed premises were willing to sell tobacco to minors according to the survey, though compliance levels among these premises increased 28 per cent from 37 per cent in 2008 to 65 per cent this year.
The research found compliance was higher among premises with token-operated cigarette vending machines where 70 per cent prevented children from buying cigarettes, compared to 37 per cent of premises with coin-operated machines.
Compliance among retailers was up 8 per cent, from 60 per cent in 2008 to 68 per cent in 2009.
Some 61 per cent of shops and licensed premises asked children for identification.
Ninety-seven per cent of minors who were asked for ID were refused the sale of cigarettes, the survey found.
Office of Tobacco Control chief executive Éamonn Rossi said although a clear improvement in compliance culture had occurred among retailers, there was still a long way to go.
“While we welcome the increase, still one-third of minors can buy cigarettes,” he said.
Launching the report, Áine Brady TD, Minister of State with responsibility for Older People and Health Promotion, said staff vigilance was essential to ensure young people don’t have access to cigarette vending machines.
In selling tobacco to a child, people may be launching them on a journey to addiction, disease and death, she said.
The Mandate trade union yesterday called on retailers to ensure identification is requested from customers.
Mandate general secretary John Douglas said, “while we recognise that compliance is improving with relation to sales to under-18-year-olds, there is still massive scope for improvement”.