Verbote von Zigarettenautomaten in Europa. Sales in Europe by Cigarette Vending Machines – Status: December 2010
AUSTRIA Minors (< 16a) are not allowed to buy tobacco from
vending machines and there is an electronic age control by bank card or
mobile phone. They still may have access to the
machines using expired bank cards from parents or via older siblings and friends.
BELGIUM Sales prohibited to minors < 16 yr old – the
automatic vending machines must be locked and can be unlocked and
activated only by and for a person of 16 or more.
BULGARIA There are no vending machines in BG
CYPRUS Banned and enforced.
CZECH REPUBLIC Both law 379/2005 and law 305/2009 ban sale of
tobacco products by vending machines and all other ways where age (of
18) cannot be controlled, so vending machines are mostly indoors
– in bars and similar spaces.
DENMARK Vending machines are not a big problem in Denmark. They
are not visible in the streets or outside stores, where there is nobody
to keep an eye on them. They are only found in
restaurants, bars and hotel lobbies occasionally. Staff in such places
will ensure that nobody under the age of 18 buys cigarettes.
ESTONIA Banned and enforced.
FINLAND 1/1/2015 Sales prohibited to young people < 18 years and
vending machines should be under supervision.Ban due by 1/1/2015.
FRANCE Banned and enforced.
GEORGIA Banned and enforced.
GERMANY There are more than 400,000 vending machines in Germany, half
of them located outdoors. The machines contain an electronic device for
checking the age of purchasers (no sale to young people < 18 years).
GREECE Banned and enforced.
HUNGARY Banned and enforced.
ICELAND Banned and enforced.
IRELAND Banned and enforced. Prohibited except in licensed premises and registered clubs
ITALY Sales to minors < 16 prohibited. As of 01.11.09 all vending
machines should be equipped with electronic devices to control the age
of purchasers. Draft legislation to ban vending
machines was presented to the Chamber of Deputies in February 2010,
number C3182 by initiative of Deputy Cosenza; the draft was halted and
there is no political will to reconsider it at the moment.
LATVIA Banned and enforced.
LITHUANIA Banned and enforced.
LUXEMBOURG Sales to minors < 16 is prohibited. Purchasers have to obtain a coin from the counter to activate the machines.
MALTA Sales to < 18 is prohibited. Machines need to be supervised.
NETHERLANDS Vending machines require age coins in order to prevent
minors (<16 yrs) from using these machines to buy cigarettes. This
rule is the responsibility of the owner of the premises
where the machine is located. In practice however, these age coins are available on top of the vending machine.
NORWAY Banned and enforced. Self-service vending machines are
banned to address the issue of sales to minors, however when the
display ban on tobacco products at points of
sale was introduced in January 2010, vending machines that carry
tobacco, over the counter medicines, razors and other products were
allowed, as long as there is no advertising on the machines, and that a
token for the tobacco products (and other products) is bought in the
store and the age limit is respected.
POLAND Banned and enforced.
PORTUGAL Sales prohibited to < 18 years. Enforcement problems
reported with minors. The vending machines must have an electronic
device to open it and they must be inside the shop. If you
doubt of the age of the minor you can ask for photo ID.
ROMANIA Banned and enforced.
SLOVAKIA Banned and enforced.
SLOVENIA Banned and enforced.
SPAIN No sales < 18 years. Failure to comply with the law is
considered a serious violation (e.g. vending machines not having
installed the technical device as they are used by minors) and
penalties range from € 600 to € 10,000.
SWEDEN The existing law provides that the vending machines should
be placed and controlled so that no person ≤ 18 can buy tobacco
products. Of course that is not the case all the time.
SWITZERLAND In 17 out of 26 cantons tobacco sales to youths are
banned. (6 cantons age-limit 18, 11 cantons age-limit 16). Some of
these cantons have legislation to ensure that access to vending
machines for youngsters is not possible.
UKRAINE Banned and enforced.
UK: ENGLAND/WALES Legislation has been passed to ban vending machines
in all four countries of the UK with effect from 1st October 2011. The
regulations for England can be accessed at:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/864/contents/made
Machine provider Sinclair Collis, part of Imperial Tobacco, has been
granted leave to appeal the High Court's decision to reject its
judicial review of the ban. The appeal is due to be heard in Court
during the week beginning 07.03.11. Although the DH states that a
favourable outcome may be anticipated given the legal considerations
accepted by the Court in their original decision (01.01.10), it is
impossible to predict how long the Court may deliberate after the
hearing, or when their final judgment will be announced. 01.10.11 is
still planned implementation date; but this may have to be delayed if
the judgment is not announced fairly soon after the hearing. Machines
should be located in places where children cannot access them and
should be in full view of staff. Despite this agreement, vending
machines are regularly used by children who have little difficulty in
making purchases since the machines are self-service and rarely
supervised.
UK: SCOTLAND 01.10.11 The tobacco and primary medical services
(Scotland) Act 2010, which was passed by the Scottish Parliament in
January 2010 but has not been enacted -
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2010/3/section/9 - will prohibit the
sale of tobacco products from vending machines completely, remote
locking mechanisms will not be permitted.
It will become effective on: 01.10.11, has been the expected starting
date, however this has yet to be confirmed. The reason for the delay is
a legal challenge to the section of the Act dealing with
vending machines by Imperial Tobacco's vending machine subsidiary,
Sinclair Collis. We await the outcome of this judicial review, which is
expected to come to court probably in May 2011.
Sales to young people < 18 are prohibited. Enforcement: Currently
there is no law or regulation governing this; the placement and
operation of machines is controlled by a voluntary agreement between
vending machine manufacturer and the site manager where the machine is
located. This agreement typically states that machines should be
located in places where young people cannot access them, and in full
view of site staff. However, this agreement is not legally binding, and
it is common for machines to be unmonitored and placed out of sight of
staff down corridors and hallways.