Last Updated: Wednesday, December 31, 2008 | 4:17 PM AT
New Brunswick stores will no longer be able to have cigarettes on display as a part of the provincial government's attempt to snuff out tobacco advertising.
Health Minister Michael Murphy announced the crackdown earlier in the year, saying the idea is to keep cigarettes out of sight and out of mind of New Brunswickers, especially young people.
Charlene Whelan, a Fredericton store owner, is getting ready for the Jan. 1 rule change by covering her cigarette and tobacco display, which is often called a power wall. Whelan said she hasn't heard from the provincial government on how exactly the cigarettes should be shielded from view.
"I have had no instructions other than [from] tobacco companies [that] say they have to be covered by Jan. 1 and that they offered to give us these [covers and] to install them," she said.
Some retailers received a letter on Wednesday from the Department of Health outlining how to comply with the regulation. The provincial government is leaving it up to individual stores on how they block the tobacco products from the public.
The province introduced the legislative amendments in March and they were passed in April, giving retailers about seven months to prepare.
The Department of Health is requiring retailers to do "everything possible" to keep tobacco products from public view when restocking shelves. The rule changes also ban any form of tobacco advertising from the public's view.
The move is aimed at stopping impulse buying and enticing young people to smoke.
When the province's health minister reminded New Brunswickers of the upcoming changes in December, he said the idea was to cut down on the devastating health effects caused by smoking.
"This ban will help more New Brunswickers to be non-smokers and lead healthier lifestyles by keeping these harmful tobacco products out of sight," Murphy said in a statement.
The department estimates the tobacco industry spent $100 million across Canada in 2005 on point-of-sale advertising.
However, Whelan said she isn't sure covering up the tobacco power walls is going to achieve the province's objective.
"It's not going to stop [people from smoking], soon everybody will know they will have to be covered so they will ask for them," she said.
Not everyone agrees with Whelan. A non-smoking advocate says new legislation is essential.
Garfield Mahood, the executive director of the Non-Smokers Rights Association, said tobacco companies do not like to have their displays taken down.
"All of this literature identifies power walls as one of the most important marketing tools available to the industry," Mahood said.
Inspectors will work with store owners to make sure they are complying with the law. If the tobacco products are not out of sight, retailers can face fines up to $2,600.
The one exemption to the new law is tobacco specialty shops. The tobacconist shops can continue to display their wares although children under 19 will not be allowed into such stores unless they are accompanied by an adult.
Cigar humidors will be allowed in the specialty tobacco stores, but they will not be permitted in other stores where they can be seen by the public.