Already in 2011, cigarettes will disappear from windows and special trays in large British supermarkets, and from 2013 – in all other stores. At the same time, the authorities decided to postpone the ban on selling cigarettes through vending machines installed in pubs. The machines will not go anywhere, but cigarettes in them will only be available for purchase using special tokens purchased from bartenders. This will help limit cigarette consumption among teenagers. And special warnings placed on cigarette vending machines will inform buyers about the dangers of smoking.
The government could not immediately introduce new bans and rules because it feared a negative reaction from representatives of the tobacco business. And the next 2-4 years will be needed for businessmen and consumers to get used to the innovations.
The bans are primarily aimed at reducing the number of smoking children. According to 2007 statistics, about 200,000 children aged 11-15 smoke in the UK. Raising the tobacco age (now in the United Kingdom cigarettes can only be bought from age 18, not 16 as before) reduced the number of smoking teenagers from 13% to 6%. As Travel.ru writes, officials hope that subsequent bans will help lead to further reductions in these statistics.