CIGARETTES could be banished from view in Jersey shops and pubs under proposals to ban retailers from displaying any tobacco products.

The new rules are part of a raft of measures being put forward by Health to toughen regulations governing the way that tobacco products can be both sold and advertised.

If the new rules are adopted, cigarettes and other smoking-related products would have to become ‘under-the-counter’ items. The ban would also include non-smoking products which carry tobacco branding. For example, the display in stores of Dunhill aftershave and clothing with a Marlboro logo would also be outlawed.

The only clue that smokers would have that a shop sells cigarettes would be an A5-size sign on the counter, which will also carry a strong health warning. In addition, Health want to make vending machines less likely to draw in smokers. They are proposing that they only show what they are selling by the brands being written in an ordinary typeface on the selection buttons. No branding would be allowed on machines and the packets themselves would have to be out of sight.