EDCLIFFE Friendly Grocer’s Terry Stehbens said businesses had been left in the dark over the Federal Government’s plan for plain packaging on cigarettes.
``We have heard nothing,’’ he said.
Mr Stehbens said the reforms would have a ``disastrous’’ impact on the ability of staff to serve customers.
``There will be no identification or branding, so trying to find the cigarettes at the point of service will waste a lot of time,’’ he said.
Mr Stehbens said the reforms were good in theory, but not practice with plain packaging being a ``nightmare’’ for staff trying to organise and re-order stock.
The plain packaging plan was recommended by Kevin Rudd’s Preventative Health Taskforce in a 2009 report Australia: The Healthiest Country by 2020.
The Tobacco Plain Packaging Bill 2011 is due to be introduced to Parliament this year. If passed, the changes will come into effect on January 1.
The Alliance of Australian Retailers spokesman Craig Glasby shared concerns over the plan to become the first country to enforce plain packaging.
``This is the latest example of a policy that won’t work, but that will hurt small business,’’ he said.
Mr Glasby said it would cause unnecessary confusion for retail staff, create delays in service time and inconvenience for customers, and make managing stock more difficult and time-consuming.
``(They have) provided no real evidence that plain packaging will help smokers quit or prevent people from taking up smoking,’’ he said.
Mr Glasby said the AAR also believed the introduction of plain packaging would make counterfeiting packets easier.
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