Selling niche tobacco

What is niche tobacco?

Niche tobacco products are different to regular cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco and can be smoked or chewed.

Examples of niche tobacco:

Chewing tobacco such as gutkha, zarda and khaini
Nasal snuff
Bidi or beedi cigarettes
Shisha or hookah tobacco

Just like smoking cigarettes, the use of niche tobacco products is addictive and presents serious health risks. For example, holding one pinch of chewing tobacco in your mouth for 30 minutes delivers as much nicotine as three to four cigarettes. 30 minutes of smoking a shisha can also be the equivalent of smoking 100 cigarettes.

Selling niche tobacco

If you sell tobacco products that can be smoked, sniffed, sucked or chewed, then the same laws will apply as if you were selling cigarettes. Failure to meet the following rules could lead to the seizure of tobacco products. You could also face prosecution and if convicted, be liable to a fine and/or imprisonment.

Rules for selling niche tobacco

Tobacco products must only be sold to people aged 18 years and over
Sellers of tobacco must display an A3 notice in a prominent place stating:
- It is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18
Tobacco products must be labelled with a code giving the date, time and place of manufacture
Tobacco that was liable to excise duty when imported into the UK must be labelled with:
- UK Duty Paid
Tobacco products that can be smoked must be labelled health warnings such as:
- Smoking kills
- Smoking seriously harms you and others around you
Health warnings must also be accompanied by a picture health warnings. These messages include:
- Smoking when pregnant harms your baby
- Smoke contains benzene, nitrosamines, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide
- Smokers die younger
Smokeless tobacco such as nasal snuff and chewing tobacco, must be labelled with:
- This tobacco product can damage your health and is addictive
All cigarettes including bidi/beedi must be labelled with a statement of their tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide content. Each year, the Secretary of State requires either the manfacturer or UK importer to provide information on tobacco ingredients, the effect on health and toxicology data