3 hours Ago By [email protected] (Duncan Browne)
An MP is ‘pressing hard’ for stricter laws on tobacco sales — with the high price of cigarettes blamed for a spate of crime. Sir John Hayes says he is continuing his campaign to make it tougher to sell cigarettes and vapes after two more Spalding shops were shut down recently for hawking dodgy products. Nida and Max Mini Mart in Winsover Road were both hit with three-month temporary closure orders after an operation involving South Holland Police and Lincolnshire County Council’s Trading Standards.
There have also been other closures across the county, including in Grantham , with the authorities trying to crackdown on the sale of goods that can be a health and fire risk. Sir John has previously called for traders selling tobacco products to be treated with the same levels of scrutiny as those selling alcohol , and believes these latest closures only hammer home the issue further. “I’m pressing that hard with ministers again,” he said.
“I’d like to think, and I called for it again in the House, we might get a licensing system for tobacco.” The Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which was announced in the King’s speech on November 7, 2023, will see the legal age for purchasing these products rise by one year every year from 2027, meaning children who turned 15 in 2024 will never be able to legally buy cigarettes and vapes. “When we had a debate recently on tobacco sales I said the best thing the Government can do is, rather than worrying about an age of consent which rises until people are pensioners, be cracking down on illegal cigarettes.
“Every time you make legal cigarettes more expensive, every time you take measures to discourage their sale, you risk feeding the illegal trade.” “Quite a significant proportion of people now actually admit they buy tobacco illegally, albeit anonymously in surveys. “The Government say they are prepared to do more, but we need specific measures now.
” South Holland and the Deepings MP Sir John also praised the work carried out to shut up the shops caught selling illegal products. “The closure of these shops is the result of a combination of agencies working together,” he said. “It’s good to see Trading Standards and the police take this so seriously.
Sometimes that includes the HMRC where money laundering is concerned. “A lot of these shops are fronts for organised crime and the illegal cigarette trade - which is very profitable by itself - is actually using shops as fronts for other things. “It’s great news this is being dealt with with the severity it deserves.
“It’s better to have fully occupied shops selling things legally, but if it’s the choice between criminal gangs running shops and doing illegal trading or an empty shop, I’m afraid an empty shop is the better scenario.”.
