Restricting tobacco sales 'could mean the end of the road' for small dairies

Thursday, 15 April 2021

Kiwi dairies could be in trouble if Government proposals to significantly restrict sales of tobacco are introduced.

The Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 Action Plan proposals, which were put to the public in a discussion document on Thursday, include limiting tobacco sales to specific R18 stores or pharmacies, the reduction of nicotine in products, and a prohibition on filters in cigarettes.

But dairy owners are worried that could spell the end of business.

Sunny Kaushal, president of the Crime Prevention Group that was set up to advocate for dairies after robberies increased, said the proposal to remove tobacco products from small retailers was uncalled-for and could have devastating consequences for dairy owners.

* Palmerston North Smokefree poster dairy returns to selling cigarettes

Crime Prevention Group president Sunny Kaushal says small businesses will close if the Government goes ahead with its proposal to limiting tobacco sales to specific R18 stores or pharmacies.

* Auckland retailers would support government ban of tobacco sales, research shows

* Convenience stores face bleak future unless they change, experts warn

* Most Christchurch dairy owners want to keep selling smokes, despite robberies, study suggests

“If they think moving tobacco will help, it's not going to help, it’s going to punish dairy owners,” he said.

People who came to buy cigarettes also spent money on other things like basic groceries or treats, he said.

“Dairies will go out of business. If the revenue is gone, how can they survive? We urge the Government to review this proposal and not take a hasty decision which could impact so heavily on small businesses.”

Glenfield dairy owner Jessica Lee said business would become a lot more difficult if she could no longer sell tobacco.

“Most of the people coming to the dairy are after tobacco products, or just milk and bread. It is a very difficult situation for us,” Lee said.

Lee said she had no idea what she would do if the proposals became law.

“We might have to close the shop,” she said.

Dave Hooker, executive director of the New Zealand Association of Convenience Stores said the removal of tobacco would be devastating for his members, who were primarily petrol stations.

Since 2012, tobacco products have had to be covered up, however many dairy owners have mixed feelings about the proposal to remove them completely. (file photo)

'For that huge chunk of turnover and income and foot traffic to be taken away from our stores, in many cases, could be fatal for them,” he said.

“We support the Government's smokefree goal, but we obviously value the category, and it's really important to us, and we just need time to transition through it, for example getting of burning tobacco and on to vaping and looking for other sources of income around that. It is a very dramatic move.'

Greg Harford, managing director of NZ Retail, said the proposal was not good news for retailers.

“As a sector, we are supportive of the Government's goals to phase out cigarettes and move towards a smoke free Aotearoa by 2025.

“But what people need to understand that tobacco sales make up a significant proportion of turnover in a lot of small businesses, particularly dairies in small communities. If you take the ability to sell those products away, you will be undermining the viability of those small businesses.

“Often, they are the only shop in an area. Its bad news for communities across New Zealand. That said, those businesses need to be looking for ways to diversify their products away from tobacco over time, vaping products are one area where they can support the smokefree goal. There are other things they could be doing. But at this stage, you will undermine those small stores.Communities could lose their small stores and the social interaction that many remote residents rely on,” he said.

A 2018 study found that may dairy owners across Auckland could be on board with ceasing tobacco sales, in part due to violent robberies targetting cigarettes.

Early findings from an Auckland Regional Public Health Service survey of 19 dairy owners across six of the city's 21 local boards, were published in a letter in the New Zealand Medical Journal.

It found retailers were likely to support government legislation permitting the sale of tobacco to a few specialist stores.

While the majority of retailers questioned, especially smaller dairy owners, were worried about the effect not selling tobacco would have on their business, they believed the decision to stop depended 'entirely on government', the findings showed.

However, a Cancer Society paper, published in the New Zealand Medical Journal in 2018, surveyed 62 dairies in the Christchurch and found the majority of dairy owners there were unwilling to stop selling tobacco products despite the fact that nearly one in three Christchurch dairies were broken into and had tobacco stolen in the course of a year.

The public have until May 31 to provide submissions on the Government’s Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 Action Plan proposals.

Submissions can be made on the Ministry of Health website.