an association takes legal action against the State
The Alliance Against Tobacco (ACT) filed a request before the Council of State in order to denounce “the insufficient control and sanction of the State towards tobacconists on the question of the sale of tobacco to minors”, according to a this Thursday.
“Tobacconists transgress the law with impunity by continuing to sell tobacco products to under-18s,” deplores the ACT, based on an investigation by the National Committee Against Smoking (CNCT) according to which two thirds of tobacconists sell them to minors. “While the State, and in particular the Ministry of Public Accounts, has the mission of sanctioning tobacco sellers who do not respect the law, the public authorities provide the profession with real support, by increasing public aid year after year (4.4 billion euros in public aid over the period 2004-2027),” continues the ACT.
The association publishes its press release a few hours before the opening of the annual congress of the Confederation of tobacconists, where the Minister of the Budget Laurent Saint-Martin and the Customs service are to speak.
“Responsible” tobacconists
In a reaction sent Thursday morning, the president of the Confederation of tobacconists Philippe Coy affirms that “the sale prohibited to minors is a major subject within the network, which will be dealt with again during our congress”. “Between the Bob qualification program (officially benevolent tobacconists) and the equipment of control cameras via AI, tobacconists are fully concerned by the law and are committed to enforcing the rules” tried to counterattack the lobbyist.
“Moreover”, Philippe Coy believes that “there is a real question to be raised about the ACT which ultimately for 30 years, and living on public aid funds, has been more concerned with stigmatizing the profession of tobacconists than with take action on smoking prevalence. Where are their results and their actions based on their primary vocation? », he asks.
According to the ACT, this is the first administrative dispute directed against state services regarding the sale of tobacco products. “While tobacconists are in France the main responsible for the failure to ban the sale of tobacco to minors, the Minister of Public Accounts and the Director General of Customs will reiterate this very day their support for the profession during their national congress . This situation is completely astonishing,” denounces Martin Drago, advocacy manager at ACT.
Dissuasive sanctions
In its request, the association enjoins the State to “take all useful measures likely to guarantee compliance with these obligations, and in particular to strengthen, both quantitatively and qualitatively (so-called ‘mystery shopper’ methodology), the control measures tobacco shops and attach them to quantitative objectives, to provide for more frequent and dissuasive sanctions, going as far as withdrawal of the license. She also asks the State for 6,000 euros, and that sanctioned tobacconists display the sanctions on their storefronts.
In mid-August, the association sent a formal notice to the Prime Minister, the Minister of the Economy, the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Health “to take all useful measures to put an end to the ignorance of the “prohibition of the sale or free offer to minors of tobacco and vaping products”. In the absence of a response, she contacted the Council of State.
