Imperial subsidiary seeks judicial review of cigarette vending machine ban
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 Imperial Tobacco has announced this afternoon that its subsidiary cigarette vending machine company, Sinclair Collis, is seeking a judicial review of the relevant sections of the Health Act 2009 which seek to ban sales of tobacco from vending machines.
Chief executive Gareth Davis said: “Legal action is always a last resort but the Government’s decision to ban cigarette vending machines is so disproportionate and unnecessary that it must be challenged.
“We do not want children to smoke and supported the Government’s proposal to stop underage access through the introduction of electronic ID cards, token mechanisms and remote control technology.
“These are effective solutions which have been implemented in a number of other countries and it is a matter of great regret that the UK Government ultimately chose to disregard all of these options in favour of a ban that will result in significant job losses in the vending industry.”
I am told that the judge will review Sinclair Collis' application and the Department of Health's response. The process is expected to last several months.
Reader Comments (10)
It's a shame that Imperial Tobacco did not have own a chain of pubs. Still, good luck to them with this judicial review.
Once the outdoor ban comes in the traditional pubs are gone.
Even the ones who put up with standing outside will stay at home.
Odd how the industry just sits back waiting fot their inevitable fate.
Well, it is nice to see the tobacco industry doing something at last. I noticed a few days ago that they were pulling their faces about plain packaging.
If, as Specky remarks, an outdoor ban will see off many more pubs, then there won't be many places to site vending machines. Pity they're not challenging outdoor ban proposals (or would that be premature?).
Its emotive for these prohibitionists.
example of prohibitionists.
http://nitespyder.com/Prohibition.jpg
They haven't changed much have they.
I have before warned of the actuall physical and phsychological dangers of suffering from ban neurosis.
A picture paints a thousend words.
ps
I now believe in reincarnation.
Specky, well put as ever, but may I draw your attention to the newest 3rd hand smoke propaganda. It is clearly the aim of the anti tobacco movement to enter your home and prevent you from smoking there too.
Oh and a Canadian group is undertaking a legal challenge to the definitions of public and private spaces within their own smoking ban legislation. Is it too much to hope that the worm is finally turning?
When are we going to see the tobacco companies really fighting back?
There are two answers (sort of) to that that question, the first being "Too little, too late" and the second being, "Better late than never"
I am not sure which line I take on it, as I suppose, any help is better than none. But if the tobacco companies had stepped in, and spoken up two years ago, we most definitely would not be in the terrible position we now find ourselves in.
Imperial Tobacco are creating a proverbial stink about their vending machines, and quite rightly so, but why have they waited all this time to let anyone know they even exist? (the tobacco company I mean, not the machines)
Almost every week now, we see more anti-smoking advertising on tv, in the papers and on the internet, most of which either uses young children as unknowing pawns in the evil game, or just tell outright lies, which mostly go unchallenged.
The tobacco companies are amongst the richest companies in the world for Christ sake, yet they have sat there in silence for all this time (until this week) letting lies be spread about their products, and not seeming to care one iota about they customers.
No other group of companies in the world would sit back like this and take all this flak, unless of course it were true. Smoking itself can be harmful to some people, not all, but some. But second hand smoke, and now this latest ridiculous thing about third hand smoke, is exactly that, RIDICULOUS, and the tobacco companies know it as well as we do, so why the hell don't they start doing something about it?
I would like to see counter adverts put out by the tobacco companies, and don't tell me they would not be accepted, because money speaks all languages, and tobacco has the money.
As a website/blog on behalf of the tobacco companies, I am sure there must be at least someone from Big Tobacco who occasionally logs on here and is willing to give some sort of answer?
Peter T.
I suspect that the tobacco cos were not particularly bothered about Britain while they had the rest of the world to expand into. Maybe now that smoking bans are spreading around the world, they are beginning to perk up.
Let us not forget how the demonisation of the enjoyment of tobacco started.
ONE person in the USA sued ONE tobacco co in ONE court in the USA and won millions of dollars in compensation because that ONE court decided that his lung cancer was caused by tobacco AND THAT THE TOBACCO COs KNEW THAT SMOKING CAUSED LUNG CANCER.
So we see that the really critical question in the whole matter of tobacco enjoyment is, "DOES TOBACCO CAUSE LUNG CANCER?"
As I understand matters at this time, more and more doubts are appearing in the so-called 'science' regarding this.
Perhaps it would be better if the tobacco cos invested in more research, but, of course, any research by them would immediately be denigrated. But, if they announced loud and clear in advance what they were doing, and suitable checks and balances were introduced, then the truth could be ascertained.
And Junican I bet that One person that sued the tobacco company in America way back then, was heavily backed by Big Pharma.
We were all innocent in those days and not aware that honesty and the dignity of man was being eroded by ambulance chasing lawyer sharks, who later morphed into PR gurus and Spin Doctors.
We all had faith in our institutions then and never thought life was going to turn into a Big Brother TV show or that the new celebrity was measured on how much you could screw out of corporations and the tobacco coys were a sitting target for them.
The compo culture had arrived and spread its tenticles to europe which has now morphed into the Health and Safety bandwagon we're now stuck with but without the compo.
Only persecution and enforced lifestyle change.
There's a growing cult now in America called Cavers where they go and live in caves, eat loads of meat and swim in icy cold lakes and go around barefoot.
Because they say their forefathers lived healthier lives!!
I believe one of the first to sue the tobacco companies in the united state was ,wait for it .
An 86 year old man.
My guess is most non smokers dont make 86.
Its just litigation ,sharky lawyers used to call litigations, "fortune cookies".