Ban On Self Service Tobacco And Vape-Vending Machines From September 2025
CSNA has warmed that retailers may not be aware that thousands of vending machines throughout the country in pubs, hotels and clubs will be removed over the next 15 months as the Section of the Public Health Acts that provided for their presence is removed.
What retailers may also not be aware of is that, ever since 1996, the owners of the vending machines were permitted to “round up” the prices charged for cigarettes by 5 pence.
This was due to a scarcity of pennies and two pences at a time that change was sellotaped to packs and the RRP was an “odd” number.
The RRP is now always either a 5 or 0 but the practice of charging more in the vending machines persisted and is invariably a premium of 10 cent over and above what all tobacco retailers are allowed to sell the exact same product to their customers.
‘It is estimated that the vending machines service between 8%and 11 % of the sales in the country, much of which, it can be assumed, will reposition into our trade, as it will not be feasible for a publicans or hotelier to seek a tobacco retailing licence if the cost exceeds the effort.’
