United Kingdom

The Court of Appeal rejected an argument that a ban on cigarette vending machines would not result in a reduction in smoking rates. The vending machine operators had argued that a law banning cigarette vending machines contravened provisions of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union regarding restrictions on imports. In the alternative, they argued for a less restrictive measure of fitting machines with age restriction mechanisms because there was no evidence of a causal link between a complete ban and decreased smoking. In rejecting the argument that there was a lack of evidence, the Court noted the provision in the FCTC Article 13 Guidelines that states "vending machines should be banned because they constitute by their very presence a means of advertising or promotion under the terms of the Convention."