While many of Ontario, Canada’s 10,000 convenience stores say they won’t be ready to hide all their cigarettes and other tobacco products by the May 31 deadline, Premier Dalton McGuinty has shown little sympathy saying the businesses have known about the ban for two years. The new ban prevents tobacco products from being displayed at any time, including during restocking or inventory checks, and prohibits customers from even touching them before they have been purchased.  

While store owners knew about the display ban passed under the Smoke-Free Ontario Act two years ago, they say they did not get the specific details until the end of January. It turns out that “garage-style” or cupboard doors that open to display the entire inventory are not acceptable; nor are curtains or blinds.  The government requires overhead containers or below-the-counter drawers that are only visible behind the counter.

Ontario Convenience Stores Association President Dave Bryans reports that the cost to many retailers to build new storage units and dismantle the so-called “power walls” may be $2,500 and that there is a waiting list at companies which make the required storage units.

Canadian Minister of Health Promotion Margarett Best has sent enforcement officers to visit over 5,000 Ontario c-stores in preparation for the new law, but Bryans says that the overly zealous tobacco enforcement officers should channel that energy into stopping illegal cigarette smuggling.