Verbote von Zigarettenautomaten in Europa. Sales in Europe by Cigarette Vending Machines – Status: December 2010

AUSTRIA  Minors (< 16a) are not allowed to buy tobacco  from vending machines and there is an electronic age control by bank card or mobile phone. They still may have access to the
machines using expired bank cards from parents or via older siblings and friends.

BELGIUM  Sales prohibited to minors < 16 yr old – the automatic vending machines must be locked and can be unlocked and activated only by and for a person of 16 or more.

BULGARIA There are no vending machines in BG

CYPRUS Banned and enforced.
  
CZECH REPUBLIC Both law 379/2005 and law 305/2009 ban sale  of tobacco products by vending machines and all other ways where age (of 18) cannot be controlled, so vending machines are mostly indoors – in bars and similar spaces.

DENMARK Vending machines are not a big problem in Denmark. They are not visible in the streets or outside stores, where there is nobody to keep an eye on them. They are only found in
restaurants, bars and hotel lobbies occasionally. Staff in such places will ensure that nobody under the age of 18 buys cigarettes.

ESTONIA Banned and enforced.

FINLAND  1/1/2015 Sales prohibited to young people < 18 years and  vending machines should be under supervision.Ban due by 1/1/2015.

FRANCE Banned and enforced.

GEORGIA Banned and enforced.
 
GERMANY  There are more than 400,000 vending machines in Germany, half of them located outdoors. The machines contain an electronic device for checking the age of purchasers (no sale to young people < 18 years).

GREECE  Banned and enforced.

HUNGARY  Banned and enforced.

ICELAND  Banned and enforced.

IRELAND Banned and enforced. Prohibited except in licensed premises and registered clubs

ITALY  Sales to minors < 16 prohibited. As of 01.11.09 all vending machines should be equipped with electronic devices to control the age of purchasers. Draft legislation to ban vending
machines was presented to the Chamber of Deputies in February 2010, number C3182 by initiative of Deputy Cosenza; the draft was halted and there is no political will to reconsider it at the moment.

LATVIA Banned and enforced.  

LITHUANIA Banned and enforced.

LUXEMBOURG  Sales to minors < 16 is prohibited. Purchasers have to obtain a coin from the counter to activate the machines.

MALTA  Sales to < 18 is prohibited. Machines need to be supervised.

NETHERLANDS Vending machines require age coins in order to prevent minors (<16 yrs) from using these machines to buy cigarettes. This rule is the responsibility of the owner of the premises
where the machine is located. In practice however, these age coins are available on top of the vending machine.

NORWAY   Banned and enforced.  Self-service vending machines are banned to address the issue of sales to minors, however when the display ban on tobacco products at points of
sale was introduced in January 2010, vending machines that carry tobacco, over the counter medicines, razors and other products were allowed, as long as there is no advertising on the machines, and that a token for the tobacco products (and other products) is bought in the store and the age limit is respected.

POLAND  Banned and enforced.

PORTUGAL  Sales prohibited to < 18 years. Enforcement problems reported with minors. The vending machines must have an electronic device to open it and they must be inside the shop. If you
doubt of the age of the minor you can ask for photo ID.

ROMANIA  Banned and enforced. 

SLOVAKIA  Banned and enforced. 

SLOVENIA  Banned and enforced.

SPAIN  No sales < 18 years. Failure to comply with the law is considered a serious violation (e.g. vending machines not having installed the technical device as they are used by minors) and
penalties range from € 600 to € 10,000.

SWEDEN The existing law provides that the vending machines should be placed and controlled so that no person ≤ 18 can buy tobacco products. Of course that is not the case all the time.

SWITZERLAND  In 17 out of 26 cantons tobacco sales to youths are banned. (6 cantons age-limit 18, 11 cantons age-limit 16). Some of these cantons have legislation to ensure that access to vending machines for youngsters is not possible.

UKRAINE Banned and enforced.  

UK: ENGLAND/WALES  Legislation has been passed to ban vending machines in all four countries of the UK with effect from 1st October 2011. The regulations for England can be accessed at:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/864/contents/made
Machine provider Sinclair Collis, part of Imperial Tobacco, has been granted leave to appeal the High Court's decision to reject its judicial review of the ban. The appeal is due to be heard in Court during the week beginning 07.03.11. Although the DH states that a favourable outcome may be anticipated given the legal considerations accepted by the Court in their original decision (01.01.10), it is
impossible to predict how long the Court may deliberate after the hearing, or when their final judgment will be announced. 01.10.11 is still planned implementation date; but this may have to be delayed if the judgment is not announced fairly soon after the hearing. Machines should be located in places where children cannot access them and should be in full view of staff. Despite this agreement, vending machines are regularly used by children who have little difficulty in making purchases since the machines are self-service and rarely supervised.
UK: SCOTLAND  01.10.11 The tobacco and primary medical services (Scotland) Act 2010, which was passed by the Scottish Parliament in January 2010 but has not been enacted -
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2010/3/section/9 - will prohibit the sale of tobacco products from vending machines completely, remote locking mechanisms will not be permitted.
It will become effective on: 01.10.11, has been the expected starting date, however this has yet to be confirmed. The reason for the delay is a legal challenge to the section of the Act dealing with
vending machines by Imperial Tobacco's vending machine subsidiary, Sinclair Collis. We await the outcome of this judicial review, which is expected to come to court probably in May 2011.
Sales to young people < 18 are prohibited. Enforcement: Currently there is no law or regulation governing this; the placement and operation of machines is controlled by a voluntary agreement between vending machine manufacturer and the site manager where the machine is located. This agreement typically states that machines should be located in places where young people cannot access them, and in full view of site staff. However, this agreement is not legally binding, and it is common for machines to be unmonitored and placed out of sight of staff down corridors and hallways.