Tobacco delivery

kazwantsamoto

Just wondering if there's any laws against delivering tobacco, the same as with carry out delivering alcohol?

GM228

kazwantsamoto wrote: »

Just wondering if there's any laws against delivering tobacco, the same as with carry out delivering alcohol?

I would think S43 of the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2002 would cover it:-

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2002/act/6/section/43/enacted/en/html#sec43

Offences relating to sale by retail of tobacco products.

43.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), it shall be an offence for a person to sell a tobacco product by retail, or cause a tobacco product to be sold by retail, by means of self service.

<snip>

(6) For the purposes of subsection (1), a tobacco product shall be deemed to be sold by means of self service where the purchaser is permitted to supply himself or herself, either upon or before payment, with the tobacco product concerned whether by means of the depositing of money or a token (intended to be used as a substitute for money) in a machine containing the tobacco product or otherwise.

I think the "or otherwise" in 43 (6) is important as it distinguishes between a machine and any other form of self service.

With regards alcohol there are no laws against delivery, the issue was in relation to payments in cash upon delivery as opposed to pre-payment.

Little CuChulainn

Has the duty been paid on this tobacco?

Peregrinus

GM228 wrote: »

I would think S43 of the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2002 would cover it:-

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2002/act/6/section/43/enacted/en/html#sec43



I think the "or otherwise" in 43 (6) is important as it distinguishes between a machine and any other form of self service.

I think it's a bit of a stretch to say that this would prevent delivery of tobaccco. It prevents an arrangement whereby "the purchaser is permitted to supply himself or herself", but I don't think home delivery is such an arrangement. The whole point of home delivery is that you make a phone call and then sit on your arse waiting for somebody to come and supply you; it's pretty much the opposite of self-service.

I'm not that familiar with the laws governing the sale of tobacco, but my instinct would to be to look to licensing; don't tobacco retailers require a licence? And don't the terms of the licence deal with the circumstances in which they may supply tobacco?

Peregrinus

On further thought, s. 37(15)(a) may be relevant. Under s. 37(14), it's generally an offence to sell tobacco products by retail. S. 37(15) creates a number of exceptions under which retail sales are lawful; one of these, in para (a), is:

"It shall be lawful for a person to sell a tobacco product . . . from premises in respect of which he or she is registered under this section."

I think this at least precludes home delivery of tobacco if the deal is, you pay they guy when he bring the tobacco, much as happens with, say, pizza delivery. In that case the sale is effected at the customer's home, which is not the registered premises, and so it doesn't come within the s. 37(15)(a) exception.

But I think that leaves open the possibility of buying the stuff over the phone or online, and paying by credit card or similar, such that the sale is completed before the tobacco ever leaves the registered premises. So long as the retailers is at the registered premises when he receives and accepts the customer's offer, the sale is effected from the registered premises, and it would seem to come within s. 37(15)(a).