The National Federation of Retail Newsagents (NFRN) has welcomed the news that retailers have longer to respond to the government’s consultation on plain packaging and has congratulated the chair of the All Party Parliamentary Small Shops’ Group, Priti Patel MP, for getting the deadline extended to 10 August.
NFRN national president, Alan Smith, said: “This is very good news as this is a very serious matter about which members feel very strongly and this extra time will enable them to make their feelings known.
“It is really important that as many retailers as possible respond and oppose this preposterous proposal. Putting tobacco products in plain packs will not reduce the number of smokers but is a gift to counterfeiters who will find it easier and cheaper to copy duty paid tobacco. This is a real threat to young people who will be cynically targeted by the counterfeiters. I urge any retailers who have yet to object to proposals to do so.”
The NFRN has received numerous requests from members who would like to make their own submissions in Gujarati or Urdu and is taking steps to facilitate this.
Smith said: “We will be submitting our own formal response but are very keen that members’ voices are heard as well, both in written submissions and through lobbying their local MP.”
The deadline for the consultation was extended after Patel wrote to public health minister Anne Milton MP protesting that as versions of the consultation translated in Urdu and Gujarati had only recently been made available, it was only fitting for Asian retailers to have more time to respond.
Source: National Federation of Retail Newsagents (NFRN)
