Lock up your Cigars!
As you are approaching your Cigar Store
in the very next few weeks you are going
to see a change, in fact some of you may
have noticed already. Some stores have
already anticipated the Tobacco Display
Ban which comes into effect in small
shops, restaurants, bars and restaurants on
Monday the 6th of April.
This is the latest phase of The Tobacco Display
Ban which came into effect some while ago for
Supermarkets and resulted in all their tobacco
products being hidden behind sliding doors. The
regulations govern the visibility and the point of
sale advertising of tobacco products.
different plans. Some will put blinds on the
windows; others will put shuttering inside their
window displays and make sure that the window
displays contain only humidors, accessories and
non tobacco products.
Once inside the Specialists Cigar stores customers
in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
should notice very little difference. It will still
be permissible to display all types of tobacco
products. However, in Scotland only cigars, pipe
tobacco and snuff may displayed.
All stores will be allowed to display accessories
such as humidors, cigar cutters and pipes in their
windows however pipes are banned from being
displayed in Scotland.
For many small stores these regulations are
particularly draconian but luckily for the
Specialist Tobacconists and Cigar Stores there are
some dispensations.
You will still be able to find humidors etc in wine
merchants (for example) providing the display is
not visible from outside the store.
The biggest change Cigar Store customers are
going to notice is that no tobacco products or
product advertising is allowed to be visible from
outside the shop. Some stores have already
implemented these changes and they have put up
covers on their on their windows. The new Casa
del Habanos in Chester is a prime example and
this new stores windows were designed with the
display ban in mind. No1a St James’s street was
also recently refurbished with the display ban in
mind and will require only minor modifications to
comply.
There is no official list of words can be used
at point of sale, but we understand that other
unbranded generic terms such as “Cuban cigars”,
“Havana cigars”, or “Hand-made cigars” are
permitted.
I’ve spoken to a number of the other London
specialist cigar stores and they all have slightly
Outside the store there will also be a major change.
Unbranded generic signs, such as “Tobacco sold
here” are allowed in the window or at the point of
sale.
So the key will be to make sure you know
where the Specialist Cigar Stores are,
because from the outside you may not
always be easy to tell.
By Nic Wing
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