S'pore introducing super tedious way to buy cigarettes to deter smokers from buying cigarettes

You got to see this to believe it.

Belmont Lay| March 17, 03:00 PM

Check out this following video, where the previous process of purchasing a packet of cigarettes off the counter has gone from 10 seconds to one minute:

NTUC'>
staff using a cigarette dispensing machine, which is designed to replace behind-the-counter cigarette displays. If successful, the machines will be rolled out to NTUC outlets and Cheers convenience stores. http://str.sg/ZtZcST VIDEO: TIFFANY FUMIKO TAY

Posted by The Straits Times on Wednesday, 16 March 2016

Confused? Here's how it works:

1. To buy cigarettes, customers will need to tell the cashier what product they want.

2. The cashier will then select the particular brand on a tablet interface.

3. A paper slip is printed for the customer to make payment.

4. Once the slip is scanned at the machine by the staff, the cigarette pack is dispensed.

5. The staff member will hand the product over to the buyer.

Available at FairPrice Xpress

Supermarket operator NTUC FairPrice is already piloting the use of this cigarette sales machine.

FairPrice Xpress (the irony) at Peace Centre is the first of its outlets to host the vending machine, which does not display cigarette packs or their labels.

All tobacco products have been removed from its shelves.

The trial of the machine kicked off on March 3 and is expected to last three months.

The supermarket is the first to take such steps to comply with amendments to the Tobacco (Control and Advertisement) Bill, passed in Parliament this week.

New laws to be implemented from 2017 will ban point-of-sale display of tobacco products such as cigarettes. This move is aimed "de-normalising" tobacco use, and also to decrease exposure of non-smokers to point-of-sale tobacco product displays.

FairPrice will then assess the feasibility of extending the system to various outlets across the island. The plan is to roll out about 20 to 30 machines, and possibly more, if the pilot is successful.

Channel News Asia reported that the upside of the machine is that it helps to organise, track inventory and hold stock securely, quoting NTUC FairPrice's general manager for the Convenience sector, Victor Cheong.

He added that this helps improve productivity in stores by eliminating the need for manual stock taking.

 

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