Hundreds of Scanian stores may be prohibited from selling tobacco

Until now, the stores have only had to submit a simple notification to the municipality to be allowed to sell tobacco. The new Tobacco Act makes stricter requirements. Among other things, anyone who is exposed to selling smuggling cigarettes gets no permit.

- It is necessary to be financially and personally responsible. You should pay taxes on time, not have financing problems. We go back three years and always send a referral to the police, ”says Rose-Marie Moos, an officer at Kristianstad municipality.

Those who continue to sell without a permit violate the law, which could result in fines or up to two years in prison. The police are the authority responsible for the checks of those who did not apply for a permit.

In Skåne's largest municipalities Malmö, Helsingborg, Lund and Kristianstad, 772 businesses have previously reported that they sell tobacco.

Of these, approximately 240 have not yet applied for permission to continue selling. The list includes shops, cafes and bars.

- For our part in Kristianstad Municipality, we intend to deregister those who today sell tobacco through the old tobacco registration. We will then also send a copy to the police, about those who are not allowed to sell tobacco, says Rose-Marie Moos.

Among the tobacco retailers in Kristianstad, the law receives both rice and rose. Several of them think it is good to have tougher controls, but respond to the cost of seeking permission. In Kristianstad it costs around SEK 7,200 and in Malmö SEK 9,500 per year.

"The law is good because it reduces the amount of smuggling cigarettes, but for us who have always taken care of us and been spot-free, the condition becomes expensive," says Ragaz Mufty, who runs a smaller store in Kristianstad.

The municipalities have held information meetings and sent out several letters to remind the traders to apply for a permit. It has given a certain effect, but still many have refrained from applying.

- It can be so simple that for some reason you have missed it or that it is not profitable. You have to pay whether you get a permit or not, says Rose-Marie Moos.