Tough rules on shops serving cigs

Rochdale shopkeepers will be banned from selling cigarettes and tobacco if they persistently supply children.

The ban is part of the Government’s Smoking Kills campaign which came into force yesterday (Wednesday 1 April).

New laws mean that if traders are caught selling tobacco to children three times within two years, they will face a 12-month ban on top of their conviction.

Ingrid Corcos, stop smoking service manager for NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale, said: “We welcome these measures and our Tobacco Alliance is working with young people to encourage them to participate in an anti-tobacco youth campaign so that our young people are able to have an influence on the social, political and economic environment they live in regarding tobacco control.

"Hopefully our local campaigning will then be relevant to our local youth and show them they have some control over smoking habits of the future for the borough.”