Fairprice introduces 5-step cigarette vending machine to help smokers quit

The union's chain of convenient stores here has launched the first of its kind cigarette vending machine in Singapore. Patrons who wish to buy cigarettes from FairPrice's Xpress at Peace Centre will have to:

1. Tell the cashier what brand and type of cigarette they want and get their age verified.
2. Get a receipt from the cashier who enters the details of the sale into a point-of-sale-tablet.
3. Use the receipt details to pay for the purchase of cigarettes at the auto-payment machine.
4. Get the cashier to confirm with the cigarette vending machine that payment has been received to dispense the packet of cigarettes.
5. Collect the change from the auto-payment machine and the packet of cigarettes from the cashier.

[fvplayer src="http://youtube.com/watch?v=azOZ-5TKo1M"] Confused yet? If the three months pilot works as planned, the supermarket chain is expected to roll out up to 30 such machines at its other outlets by the end of this year. The convenience store's move is timed to comply with the Government's latest legislation which requires retailers to ensure that cigarettes on sale are not visible to the public. The new laws also include curbs on the display of price lists of tobacco products.