A West Midland vending machine company has launched a bid to get the Government to reconsider plans to ban the sale of cigarettes from machines.
The Health Act 2009 is set to ban sales of tobacco from vending machines from October 2011.
But Wolverhampton-based Sinclair Collis, a subsidiary of the Imperial Tobacco Group, has said it is looking for a judicial review of the relevant sections of the Act.
Chief executive Gareth Davis said: “Legal action is always a last resort but the Government’s decision to ban cigarette vending machines is so disproportionate and unnecessary that it must be challenged.
“We do not want children to smoke and supported the Government’s proposal to stop underage access through the introduction of electronic ID cards, token mechanisms and remote control technology.
“These are effective solutions which have been implemented in a number of other countries and it is a matter of great regret that the UK Government ultimately chose to disregard all of these options in favour of a ban that will result in significant job losses in the vending industry.”
Sinclair Collis is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Imperial Tobacco. It is based in Wolverhampton and employs 174 people.
