Supermarkets Hide Cigarettes Displays

It's less than a month until tobacco will be hidden in large shops in England in an effort to prevent the targeting of young people and cut smoking numbers. It is hoped that taking away tobacco displays will help people quit and make smoking less of a social norm. Around two-thirds of smokers started the habit before they were 18, which is why the charity Cancer Research says it looks forward to cigarettes being less visible to young people and children. Large shops, such as supermarkets, have until 6 April to remove cigarettes and other products from view, except when serving customers or restocking. According to the Department of Health, Sainsbury's, The Co-operative and Waitrose have already started complying. Other shops need to find out if they are classed as large and cover up products before the deadline. Chief Medical Officer Professor Dame Sally Davies says smoking causes 80,000 deaths in the UK each year and, with eight million people in England smoking, it's the biggest preventable killer. Meanwhile, the health secretary Andrew Lansley has used today's International Women's Day to stress the importance of women's health. He says: "We were one of the first countries to introduce cervical screening, which now saves around 4,500 lives a year. We also have one of the most successful HPV vaccination programmes in the world and nearly five million girls have been protected in just over three years."