Councils accuse pubs of underage cigarette sales

Licensees have rejected accusations that children are being allowed to buy cigarettes from vending machines in pubs.

Derbyshire County Council is demanding that pubs take more care over who buys the cigarettes and reminds them that fines of up to £2,500 can be issued if they are caught.

The edict comes as part of an East Midlands campaign initiated by the East Midlands Co-ordinators of Trading Standards in response to testing in the area.

During recent testing in 10 Derbyshire pubs only one stopped a 14-year-old volunteer buying cigarettes. In some other parts of the East Midlands all underage volunteers succeeded.

But licensees in Derbyshire have argued that they are aware the problem exists and work hard to prevent it.

"We don't have that problem because we wouldn't let people under 18 in here in the first place," said Christine Perry, licensee at the Swan and Salmon Inn in Derby. "It's not an issue we've ever had to deal with and staff know exactly who is buying from the machine."

Jad O'Tacki, licensee at the Bulls Head in Derby, agrees: "I'm fully aware of the risks involved. I have a cigarette machine but I've placed it at the front of the bar so I can see exactly who uses it. This really is not a problem for me."

Licensees have complained that policing vending machines is simply another challenge when there are a host of other priorities, but even the busiest pubs say underage customers are high on their list of priorities.

Tony Williams, who operates six pubs around Derbyshire through his company Rutherford Inns, said: "We do all we can to protect our licences and put our machines in high profile areas so we can see them. With all the monitoring we have had over the summer licensees are particularly conscious of all the underage issues."

A spokesman for Derbyshire County Council said: "There is a lot of enforcement activity for over-the-counter sales, but we monitored some machines and our tests revealed that something needed to be done."

Licensees are receiving the following advice:​

• Vending machines should be installed where they can be supervised at all times
• There is a legal requirement to display the following notice on vending machines: 'This machine is only for the use of people aged 16 and over'
• Challenge anyone you think is underage and tell them not to use the machine.

Source: Derbyshire Trading Standards​