Member

There seems to be a suggestion or a thought that this ban, too, will be self-enforcing. However, it seems to me that all the evidence points the other way. The first line of enforcement that we have is, of course, the retailer. We know that, as my noble friend Lord Murray said, the retailer suffers considerably from aggression—and, indeed, from violence—in trying to enforce the existing ban on sales. That is only likely to become worse when they are asked to make finely judged distinctions between somebody who might be 38 and somebody who might be 39. How does one make that sort of judgment? That is what will be required. The thought, perhaps, is that the person who is 38 will willingly say, “I am no longer able to buy cigarettes, even though my friend here, who happens to be a year older, can do so”. I just do not believe that that is remotely credible. The first force of this will fall on the retailer.