Tobacco f irms ‘bribe’ shops with freebies to push brands

TOBACCO giants routinely bribe shopkeepers with iPads and freebies to push their cigarette brands to customers, a study found.

Some retailers are also promised ‘a cash bonus’ to persuade customers to switch brand.

The research, carried out by a group of Scottish universities, showed that sales assistants are given sweeteners to give certain brands ‘priority positions’ and hospitality incentives to keep stock levels high.

And the study found that incentive schemes have become worse in the face of government legislation that means cigarettes have to be kept hidden from public view.

But the industry body that represents all the major tobacco manufacturers yesterday hit out at the study, calling it a ‘desperate attack’.

Lead author Martine Stead, deputy director of the institute of social marketing, said: ‘The tobacco industry has, for many years, incentivised retailers to display particular brands prominently on their shelves.

‘The tobacco companies rely on retailers even more to promote tobacco, now that displays are covered up. They are still offering them payments and rewards, including substantial lump sums to make verbal recommendations to customers to try a particular brand.’

As part of the study experts from academic group the ‘DISPLAY team’, a collaboration between the universities of Stirling, St Andrews and Edinburgh, and research body Scotcen, canvassed 24 independent tobacco retailers.

The team found incentives were often incorporated into

‘Payments and rewards’

loyalty schemes with points redeemable against cash or gifts, including hospitality, iPads and business equipment.

In one promotion, retailers were told they would be visited by a mystery shopper who would ask for a rival brand. Retailers who recommended another product the company wished to promote would receive a lump sum.

of the retailers, 17 out of 24 were assisted by tobacco companies before the ban took effect to adapt their gantries to comply with the legislation.

The study showed that the tactics may even be more critical in the era of plain packaging, introduced this year.

The research paper, Tobacco companies’ use of retailer incentives after a ban on point-of-sale tobacco displays in Scotland, is published in the British Medical Journal’s Tobacco Control journal.

Giles Roca, director general of the Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association, said: ‘This is a desperate attack on a legitimate consumer goods industry for supporting and working with retailers in a way which is no different from any other industry working in a similar competitive environment.

‘If the tobacco industry presented a study based on this sample size it would rightly be ignored or derided.’