Explanatory note

These Regulations make miscellaneous and consequential amendments to secondary legislation made under the Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Act 2010 (“the 2010 Act”) including amendments to the size requirements for notices which retailers have to display.

The Sale of Tobacco (Register of Tobacco Retailers) Regulations 2010 (“the 2010 Regulations”) prescribe the dimensions of the notice, the wording of the statement and the size of the statement on a banning order notice which, under section 19(2) of the 2010 Act, must be displayed by a person in retail premises where a banning order has been made specifying those premises. Regulation 2 amends the 2010 Regulations to change the requirements for the dimensions of banning order notices and the size of the statement on such notices. These requirements will apply to all notices from 27 November 2026, including notices relating to tobacco and vaping product banning orders (which are orders made under section 15 of the 2010 Act before 29 October 2026).

The Sale of Tobacco (Display of Warning Statements) (Scotland) Regulations 2011 (“the 2011 Regulations”) prescribe the dimensions of the notice and the size of the statement on the notice which, under section 8(1) of the 2010 Act, must be displayed in any premises where a tobacco business is carried on. From 1 January 2027 the notice must contain the statement “It is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009”. Regulation 3 amends the 2011 Regulations to change the requirement for the size of the text in the statement. The requirements for the dimensions of the notice itself will not change.

The Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 (Consequential, Transitional and Saving Provisions) (Scotland) Regulations 2026 (“the 2026 Regulations”) contain amendments in consequence of provision in the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026. Sections 54 and 55 of that Act repealed the offences of a person under the age of 18 purchasing tobacco products, and of a person under the age of 18 failing to comply with a confiscation request. The 2026 Regulations amend the Sale of Tobacco (Registration of Moveable Structures and Fixed Penalty Notices) (Scotland) Regulations 2011 (“the Fixed Penalty Regulations”) to ensure there are no longer any prescribed fixed penalties for the repealed offences. Regulation 4 of these Regulations amends the heading of regulation 7 of the Fixed Penalty Regulations to reflect that regulation 7 will contain the amount of fixed penalty and discounted amount for all offences in Chapters 1 and 2 of Part 1 of the 2010 Act.